IPeople all over Germany welcomed the New Year. For example, at the traditional New Year's Eve party at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, tens of thousands celebrated the turn of the year, and for the first time since the corona pandemic, the well-known fireworks lit up the night sky over the capital. Around 45,000 visitors came to the ZDF New Year's Eve party despite intermittent rain and high security precautions. According to the organizers, the festival mile between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column was designed for 65,000 people.
The police had tightened security precautions in many places – for example, on Sonnenallee in Berlin-Neukölln and around Cologne Cathedral, according to the responsible police spokesman, things initially remained quiet in the evening.
More attacks on firefighters and police officers
However, in the last hours up to midnight on New Year's Eve, the Berlin police had temporarily arrested more than 100 people throughout the city for dangerous firecrackers and other violations. So far there have been a low three-digit number of arrests, said a police spokesman on Sunday around 11 p.m.
Overall, what happened until then was normal for a New Year's Eve in Berlin, said the spokesman. There have also been attacks on firefighters and police officers again, but it is not yet possible to say to what extent or whether there were fewer than last year.
There were heavy fireworks displays well before midnight, especially near Alexanderplatz in front of the Red Town Hall. In Neukölln it was comparatively less aggressive than last year – also because of the firecracker ban zone in Sonnenallee.
However, several people were arrested in Neukölln because they were obviously making so-called Molotov cocktails. “They filled gasoline into glass bottles and were inserting scraps of fabric as fuses when they were discovered by our emergency services in Neukölln,” the police wrote on the Internet portal X (formerly Twitter). They also had grill lighters with them. Nine suspects were arrested and eleven Molotov cocktails were seized.
An 18-year-old died when a firecracker exploded in Koblenz. The accident on New Year's Eve happened when the firecracker was lit, the police said on Sunday evening. The young man died as a result of the explosion despite resuscitation. The investigation into the circumstances was ongoing. The police initially did not want to provide any further information about the incident in the Rübenach district. The police once again called for caution when handling fireworks.
At the beginning of New Year's Eve, Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner announced tough action against riots and riots. “Today is the night, if necessary, the night of repression where the rule of law will try to assert itself,” said the CDU politician during a visit to a police station on Sonnenallee – while firecrackers could be heard in the background. At the same time, he referred to prevention work in the capital in recent months and weeks that was intended to curb youth violence.
Because of the suspected planned terrorist attack at Cologne Cathedral, the security forces there were particularly vigilant. The police chief said at a press conference on Sunday that the allegedly planned attack was intended to be carried out with a car. It turned out that the Tajik, who was taken into custody on Christmas Eve, was part of a larger network.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) said that the approximately 1,000 police officers who were deployed around the cathedral on New Year's Eve were doing everything they could to ensure the safety of those celebrating. The police had received information about a planned Islamist attack on Cologne Cathedral on New Year's Eve. Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki then celebrated the well-attended New Year's Eve mass in the evening under heavy police protection. According to police reports, things initially remained quiet around the cathedral in the evening.
16 people were injured in a basement fire in an apartment building in Essen. According to the fire department, the injured include seven children and nine adults. When the emergency services arrived in the Frohnhausen district early on New Year's Eve, heavy smoke was noticed. According to the information, several residents were unable to leave the building and had to be rescued using ladders by the fire department.
The injured received medical care and were taken to various hospitals. The cause of the fire is still unclear, which is why the police have started an investigation.
Hamburg police: “In normal New Year’s Eve mode”
According to the police, people in Hamburg initially got in the mood for the turn of the year peacefully on New Year's Eve. “We are still in normal New Year’s Eve mode,” a police spokesman said about an hour before midnight. Initially, there were no incidents with larger groups either in the city center or in parts of the city further away from the center. There were initially no reports of injuries.
A fire department spokesman also reported no major operations late in the evening. “So far we haven’t had a major damaging fire,” he said. There were smaller fires and, at times, many false alarms – for example due to burning firecracker packaging.
According to police reports, around 10,000 to 15,000 people came together to celebrate at the Reeperbahn alone that evening. More people joined in, as the police spokesman reported.
#Year39s #Eve #arrests #Berlin