Two killed by fireworks in German New Year’s celebrations

Two people have been killed by fireworks amid new year celebrations in Germany, it has emerged.

In the Brandenburg region outside Berlin, a 35-year-old man died after igniting fireworks, and a 19-year-old suffered fatal head injuries after he set off a homemade device. 

But the country avoided a repeat of the mass groping in Cologne in 2016, amid heightened security and efforts to protect women from sexual harassment.  

Police in Cologne reported seven cases of sexual harassment, while Berlin police reported 10 and seven arrests as several hundred thousand people celebrated at the city’s Brandenburg Gate.

Police sought to prevent a repeat of New Year 2016 in Cologne, when hundreds of women were groped and robbed, mostly by groups of migrants. 

In December of that year it was reported that in total, 1,222 criminal complaints were investigated by the authorities in Cologne, of which 513 involved an accusation of sexual assault. 

The country avoided a repeat of the mass groping in Cologne in 2016, amid heightened security and efforts to protect women from sexual harassment. For this season’s event, Berlin’s main New Year’s Eve party had a ‘safe space’ for women, staffed by the German Red Cross, at the capital city’s famous Brandenburg Gate

These included sexual coercion, rape and sexually motivated insults. 

The attacks sparked outrage across Germany amid tensions over the arrival in the country of 1.1million refugees in 2015. 

For this season’s event, Berlin’s main New Year’s Eve party had a ‘safe space’ for women, staffed by the German Red Cross,  at the capital city’s famous Brandenburg Gate.

Women were told to seek help from other revellers if they feel harassed or threatened.