2024–2025 German New Year's Eve pyrotechnics incidents

During the celebration of New Year's Eve and day between 2024 and 2025, several incidents involving the use of pyrotechnics occurred throughout Germany, resulting in the deaths of five people, the injury of several dozens, and culminating in the arrests of least 330. The celebrations had seen unusually intense mishandling of both legally purchased and illegally improvised pyrotechnic items and possibly due to a widespread tampering and distribution campaign of deliberately defective consumer pyrotechnics items. Some 15 law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency services were injured as due to being pelted with illegal fireworks in Cologne, Leipzig and Hamburg. Some 330 people were detained in the capital Berlin overnight, contrary to previous years, where there were no major violence or incidents.

2024–2025 German New Year's Eve pyrotechnics incidents
Location	Germany
Date	31 December 2024 – 1 January 2025
Weapons	Fireworks
Deaths	5
Injured	100+

Incidents

Accidental deaths

• On 31 December 2024, at approximately 22:40 in Geseke, in the northwest region of North Rhine-Westphalia, a 24-year-old man from Bad Wünnenberg died after detonating a pyrotechnic rocket. According to local police, who believe the victim had purchased the homemade firework through social media.^[1][2][3]
• In Oschatz in Saxony, at around 22:15, a 45-year-old man died of serious head injuries when he set fire to a "pyrotechnic bomb". According to police, it was a powerful F4 category firework, which requires a special permit to purchase and also in Saxony, a 50-year-old man from Seifersdorf died on the spot from head injuries in the town of Hartha when he tried to detonate a pyrotechnic pipe bomb, a police spokesperson said.^[4][5][6]
• In the quarter of Ochsenwerder in Hamburg, a 20-year-old man died lighting a pyrotechnic firework.^[7]
• In Kremmen near Berlin, a 21-year-old man died from an "inappropriate manipulation" of pyrotechnics, according to local police. Three other people in the region were seriously injured in similar circumstances.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Accidental injuries

Bavaria: In Munich, district Ramersdorf, a 14-year-old boy lost several fingers when a rocket exploded in his hand.^[12]

Berlin: 42 people were check in for treatment for firework-related injuries at Unfallkrankenhaus Berlin [de]. Another 49 cases were registered at Charité.^[13]

Thuringia: In Kölleda, a firework exploded in the hand of a 15-year-old boy, requiring amputation. In Unterwellenborn, a 28-year-old man suffered severe burns to his face after a firework struck him in the head.^[14]

Attack on emergency services

In Schwäbisch Gmünd, Baden-Württemberg, three police officers were injured in a fireworks explosion while conducting an ID check. Two unidentified youths fled the scene. In Pforzheim, an active duty firetruck was shot at with firework rockets and stones, and although no one was injured, the damage to the vehicle is estimated to be several thousand euro.^[15]

Large-scale fires

In Munich, district Milbertshofen, a bottle rocket caused a fire in a second floor apartment. The entire flat was destroyed while three children, aged 2, 11, and 14, suffered burns and smoke inhalation.^[12] A similar fire in Messestadt Riem spread to four apartments before being extinguished and resulted in 50,000 euro damage.^[16]

In Sauerlach, Bavaria, a farm caught fire due to being struck by fireworks, burning down the barn and destroying large parts of the adjacent house. The damage is around 2 million euros.^[17]

In Berlin, 36 flats were deemed uninhabitable due to firework damage.^[13]

Later incidents

On 2 January, several instances of fireworks being used as weapons against emergency services were reported in Lower Saxony. In Hanover, police were attacked at the train station, leading to one arrest. In the quarter of Kronsberg, firefighters were shot at with bottle rockets and firecrackers. In the quarter of Mühlenberg, a policewoman was injured by a small firework explosion during an ID check. An underage youth was arrested. More incidents, including attacks on emergency services, attacks between citizens, and accidents, were reported in Garbsen, Tostedt, Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Wolfsburg and Oldenburg.^[18]