New Year’s Eve: Police operations in Cologne and Düsseldorf
New Year’s Eve in NRW
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Man dies by firecrackers – police report some operations
Dusseldorf Despite the ban on gathering, the police in North Rhine-Westphalia had some missions on New Year’s Eve. There was a lot going on, especially on the Kölner Ringen and in Düsseldorf’s old town. There was a fatal accident caused by a firecracker in Hennef.
From the point of view of the North Rhine-Westphalian police, the start of the new year went well and smoothly. The number of police on New Year’s Eve was around 2,400, as in the previous year, said a spokeswoman for the state control center on Saturday morning in Duisburg. After a brief overview, there were no major incidents.
From Hennef at Bonn however, a fatal accident was reported. A 37-year-old was killed in a fireworks explosion and a 39-year-old was critically injured. The two men had celebrated New Year’s Eve with a group of ten and, according to witnesses, had separated somewhat from the group shortly after midnight.
Suddenly there was a very loud bang and the two were seriously injured on the ground. The police suspected early Saturday morning that it could have been a self-made firecrackers.
In Cologne According to a police spokesman, a relatively large number of people arrived in the city center and on the banks of the Rhine from midnight. Clearances have not been observed, especially in the old town and on the rings. The police supported the regulatory office in checking the corona protective measures. There were also isolated cases of physical injuries.
Also in Dusseldorf Was the police die by their own account. In the old town there were at times larger gatherings of people, so that the police and the public order office occasionally issued warnings. In Münster and Dortmund, on the other hand, there was hardly anything going on, according to the police. “Here is dead pants”, it was said from Münster.
The police Mönchengladbach Was deployed a total of 186 times. Until shortly after midnight, the overall number of operations was limited, reports the police. Shortly after the start of the new year, the number of incoming emergency calls increased significantly. There were six offenses against personal injury with slightly injured persons, six people at the same time in police custody to prevent further criminal offenses and administrative offenses. Around six o’clock there was an accident by a drunk driver on Bismarckstrasse.
The fire department Bochum reports from a very quiet start to the year. While emergency calls were no longer torn off from midnight before the pandemic, only twelve missions were counted in the first hour of this year. A person was seriously injured in the face by a fireworks rocket. Overall, however, significantly fewer people were injured than before the pandemic.
Despite the ban on the sale of fireworks, there were strong bangs in some places, and rockets could also be seen. There was no general ban on firecrackers. However, many cities had designated certain public areas as firecrackers-free zones.
NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) thanked the police for their commitment on New Year’s Eve. He had visited a police station in downtown Cologne on Friday evening and accompanied officials in their work in the area around the cathedral.
The sale of fireworks was again banned nationwide before New Year’s Eve – as in 2020. There was no general bang prohibition. But many cities designated public areas in which no firecrackers and missiles were allowed to be detonated.
There were also severe contact restrictions. According to the country’s current Corona Protection Ordinance, vaccinated and New Year’s Eve were allowed to meet a maximum of ten people on New Year’s Eve – whether indoors or outdoors.
Unvaccinated people are allowed to spend the turn of the year with a maximum of two people from another household. In addition, public dance events were prohibited, clubs and discos remained closed in North Rhine-Westphalia.