A 19th century church in Amsterdam was engulfed by fire in the early hours of New Year’s Day
Elsewhere in the Netherlands, a 17-year-old boy and 38-year-old man were killed in fireworks incidents. In Bielefeld, Germany, local police said two 18-year-olds died after setting off homemade fireworks.
Reports of attacks against police and firefighters were widespread across the country.
Petrol bombs were thrown at police in the southern city of Breda. In Rotterdam, the city’s eye hospital said it had treated 14 patients, including 10 minors, for eye injuries. Two received surgery.
What a weird article. Most of these are fireworks accidents possibly inflicted upon the victims by themselves (no details). The cause of the church fire is unknown. Two of the firework deaths were in Germany (why mention that in an article titled ‘Netherlands police face ‘unprecedented’ New Year’s violence’?). Then they kinda sprinkle on some info about reports of violence against police (again, no details).
idk bout the article but it was fucked here. we even got an alert on our phones asking not to call 112 (911) unless youre in a life threatening situation bc they were getting to many phone calls
Could there be a translation issue - like “mayhem” rather?
For those of you who have never been in the Netherlands during New Year’s Eve, it’s wild. The fireworks start a few months in advance and increase with intensity as December 31st gets closer and closer. During New Year’s Eve day fireworks can be heard constantly, and when midnight finally hits, it feels and sounds like a war zone, no joke. I was in Amsterdam and Utrecht when I experienced this firsthand, and it was crazy.
My firework experiences in Germany and Paris were both like this. People were firing rockets at other people. There was so much smoke that you couldn’t see five feet in front of you. It was good fun.
How to survive Dutch fireworks
We know how to throw a party
Even from a distance from the Netherlands, there is this constant rumbling thunder from the direction of the border. It starts a few hours before midnight and only stops a few hours after midnight. Sometimes you can see the clouds flashing red and green. It does feel like a distant war zone.
The wildlife is probably migrating for the duration.
What’s the origin of the attacks against the police and firefighters? Poor suburbs’ youth angry at the system?
Alcohol and stupidity
