In Brandenburg, the police may report the first serious New Year's Eve accident of the year. According to initial findings, two men are handling self-made fireworks in a residential building in Teupitz, which suddenly explode. The detonation is said to have caused cracks in the basement of the house.
In Teupitz, Brandenburg, two men apparently caused an explosion in the basement of a residential building while handling pyrotechnics. A 24-year-old and a 51-year-old man were injured in the incident - one of them seriously, according to the police in the Dahme-Spreewald district. A fire broke out in the house as a result of the explosion. A large contingent of firefighters had to move in to extinguish the fire.
According to the information, the 24-year-old had to be flown to a special clinic in Berlin with a rescue helicopter. The 51-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital in an ambulance. As the "Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung" reports, the men are said to have handled firecrackers they had made themselves.
Police say the explosion happened around 11:45 a.m. What actually happened in the basement is still being investigated. When extinguishing the fire, two pistols were discovered in addition to the remains of pyrotechnics. It is still unclear whether these are alarm pistols or other weapons. According to the police, the house can still be entered, but is no longer habitable. The explosion is believed to have cracked the basement.
Again and again there are many injuries and fires due to pyrotechnics on New Year's Eve. At the turn of the year, Brandenburg's Interior Minister Michael Stübgen and Health Minister Ursula Nonnemacher once again called for careful handling of fireworks. Stübgen emphatically warned against burning off unapproved or home-made fireworks. Nonnenmacher referred above all to the additional burden on hospitals and rescue services.
