Berlin hospital reports 22 people with serious firework injuries

DPA
·1 min read
A boy watches colourful fireworks on a street in Memmelsdorf as people celebrate the New Year. Pia Bayer/dpa
A boy watches colourful fireworks on a street in Memmelsdorf as people celebrate the New Year. Pia Bayer/dpa

Nearly two dozen people were treated for serious firework injuries received during New Year's Eve celebrations, including some requiring amputations, the city's Unfallkrankenhaus (UKB), a hospital specializing in accident injuries, said on Monday.

Some 22 patients with serious eye injuries, burns and blast injuries to the hands and face have been treated, the hospital said on the online platform X.

The UKB spoke of "dramatic amputation injuries" in some cases.

The hospital significantly increased its operating capacity on New Year's Eve, it said.

"Our team of hand surgeons is already warming up for the surgical marathon that night in several operating theatres," the hospital announced on X on Sunday.

Pyrotechnics are set off on Eisenbahnstrasse in the east of the city. Sebastian Willnow/dpa
Pyrotechnics are set off on Eisenbahnstrasse in the east of the city. Sebastian Willnow/dpa
Pyrotechnics are set off on Augustusplatz during the New Year's Eve celebrations. Sebastian Willnow/dpa
Pyrotechnics are set off on Augustusplatz during the New Year's Eve celebrations. Sebastian Willnow/dpa