German police seize 850kg firework stash
Fireworks are a New Year's staple in Germany, where people spent 137 million euros ($156 million) on them last year. PHOTO: AFP
German police said Sunday they confiscated 850 kilos of fireworks and firecrackers from a 23-year-old man in Hamburg, ahead of New Year's festivities.
Police were tipped off by the man's neighbour that he was stockpiling a large quantity of pyrotechnics.
Officers descending on the man's home found the fireworks packed into his apartment, cellar and two vans, a police spokeswoman told national news agency DPA.
The pyrotechnics contained around 80 kilos of explosive substances -- 80 times over the limit of fireworks that can be legally stored in a private home.
Fireworks and rockets are an essential part of New Year's festivities in Germany, with revellers firing off huge amounts of pyrotechnics from balconies or their lawns.
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They are sold on the last three days of the year, with people in Germany spending 137 million euros ($156 million) on them last year.
But January 1 is also marked by casualty reports of individuals injured or even killed by fireworks.
On New Year's 2018, pyrotechnic mishaps left two people dead, a child injured and five people requiring amputations.
This season, several injuries have already been reported even before New Year's eve, with two people including a 14-year-old losing fingers to firecracker blasts gone wrong, while an 18-year-old was hospitalised for severe burns.