German officials have called for a ban on illegally imported and homemade “firecracker bombs” after at least five people were killed across the country on New Year’s Eve due to personal fireworks.
The use of personal fireworks is widespread in Germany and is minimally regulated, leading to hundreds of injuries and massive mobilizations of police and first responders in cities at the end of every year.
In Berlin alone, police and hospital officials reported that 17 people were injured by “Kugelbomben,” spherical explosives that are legally restricted to professional fireworks displays. Five victims, including young children, sustained severe injuries to their hands, faces, and eyes, while others sought help for burns and hearing damage, according to The Guardian, as reported by RKS NEWS.
“The number of patients treated compared to previous years was average, or slightly below average,” said a spokesperson for the UKB hospital in Berlin to local media. “However, the severity of the injuries is unusual.”
Most of the victims were young people killed in separate accidents while attempting to ignite the pyrotechnic devices, sometimes using illegal fireworks bombs, which they had modified for a more spectacular effect. The Kugelbomben were mainly brought from Poland or the Czech Republic and combined with components such as aerosol cans and plastic tubes for louder noises and higher trajectories, authorities said.
Spherical or “ball” bombs come in various sizes and are reserved in Germany for professional firework displays. However, in the lead-up to New Year’s Eve, they could often be seen illegally offered through social media channels.
Stephan Weh, the regional head of the police union in Berlin, called for a crackdown on illegal pyrotechnic imports and a nationwide ban on private fireworks.
