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In Alsace, France, a 25-year-old man died on New Year's Eve while setting off a firework.
The fireworks mortar "tore off the head" of the young man in the municipality of Boofzheim, announced the Bas-Rhin prefecture, near the border with Germany.
Another man was seriously injured in the head in the accident in the city about 30 kilometers south of Strasbourg.
The 24-year-old was taken to a hospital.
The exact circumstances of the incident near the German border were initially unclear.
According to the local newspaper “DNA”, the fireworks initially did not explode - when the two men approached it, it was ignited.
In the Bas-Rhin department, the sale and private use of fireworks has been banned since early December.
The regulation is valid until January 4th.
The prefecture had justified the ban with the Corona crisis, among other things.
Large crowds should be avoided.
However, the message also recalled that a 30-year-old died in 2019 after being injured by a fireworks.
Homemade pyrotechnics - a dead man in Brandenburg
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There were also accidents in Germany.
A 24-year-old man died in an accident involving pyrotechnics in Brandenburg.
According to the first findings of the police, self-made pyrotechnics were ignited shortly after midnight in Rietz-Neuendorf near Frankfurt (Oder), as a spokesman for the situation service announced early Friday morning.
It was fireworks that could not be bought.
Details of the exact course of the accident were initially unclear.
The victim is said to have been with a group on an undeveloped private property.
There were no other injuries, said the spokesman.
A defusing team from the police also ensured that pyrotechnics had not been ignited.
In Lauenburg (Schleswig-Holstein), a 37-year-old man blew his hand away with a firecracker.
The explosion was very strong, said a police spokesman on New Year's Day.
According to initial findings, the firecrackers had already been stored for two years.
It was initially unclear whether the fireworks were approved in Germany.
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A 21-year-old from the Osnabrück district was critically injured by an explosion in a residential building in Hilter.
According to initial findings, he had handled chemicals with a 20-year-old and a 26-year-old to produce fireworks, the police said.
Parts of his limbs were severed in the explosion.
The 26-year-old was seriously injured in the accident and the 20-year-old was slightly injured.
The house was also badly damaged.
The police estimate the property damage to be at least 100,000 euros.
Corona requirements largely complied with
All in all, according to reports from the police, New Year's Eve was exceptionally quiet across Germany.
The restrictions due to the corona pandemic were largely complied with.
The Berlin police recorded only a few violations of the Corona requirements.
There were demonstrations in Stuttgart on Thursday evening, which the security forces disbanded for violating the Infection Protection Act.
The police were on the move nationwide with massive personnel to enforce compliance with the Corona requirements.
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Because of the corona pandemic, the sale of New Year's Eve fireworks was banned nationwide this year in order to protect hospitals from overload.
Firecrackers prohibition zones have been set up in many places.
Overall, the situation is "calm," said a police spokesman in the capital early on Friday morning.
After midnight, there were briefly more people on the streets.
Occasionally, unauthorized pyrotechnics were ignited in the firecrackers prohibition zones.
The officers also had to break up several crowds.
So far, more than 80 people have been briefly detained, among other things, for controls in the course of the Corona measures.
Earlier in the evening, the emergency services reported that they had filed several reports, among other things because of gunfire and alcohol consumption.
The Berlin police had prepared for New Year's Eve with a massive number of personnel.
2900 officials, 600 of them from other federal states, were on duty in the capital.
The officials were particularly interested in the government district and the Brandenburg Gate, where hundreds of thousands of people usually gather to celebrate the New Year.
The Berlin fire brigade has been involved in 148 fires since midnight.
In the Steglitz district, emergency services were attacked in an ambulance, the fire brigade wrote on Twitter.
A grocery store was on fire in Berlin-Buckow, and around a hundred emergency services were deployed to put out the fire.
Group attacks firefighters in Dortmund
In Dortmund, people from a group of around 50 attacked emergency services.
Contrary to the appeals of the authorities, the people had gathered in a quarter in the Clarenberg district, apparently several small groups came together, as the city administration announced.
Several interferers emptied fire extinguishers in the open street and threw firecrackers on passing cars.
They put a garbage container in the way of firefighters and set fire to another container.
Police officers temporarily arrested a 16-year-old from among those involved and filed criminal charges for breach of the peace and property damage.
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The group was an exception in the nightly events at the turn of the year, it was said.
Otherwise the Dortmunders would have adhered to the guidelines in an exemplary manner, demonstrated responsibility and solidarity, praised the police and regulatory authorities.
In cities like Hanover, Erfurt and Rostock, too, the police drew a positive balance on New Year's Eve.
In Frankfurt, the police said goodbye at 4 a.m. on Twitter with the hashtag #Frankfurtbleibtstabil and wished them a "good night's sleep".