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Ambulance in the Netherlands (archive picture 2019)
Photo: Martijn Van Der Zande / dpa
A twelve-year-old boy was fatally injured in an explosion of fireworks powder on Friday, and another boy was seriously wounded. According to the police, the children in the Dutch municipality of Haaksbergen not far from Enschede had not played with fireworks themselves, but only watched a man in the street fiddling with a "Klaphamer" (in German: Knallhammer). In this device, which is more commonly used by fireworks enthusiasts in the Netherlands, a large metal lever strikes flammable powder, which is applied to a metal plate. This creates a powerful explosion.
How the accident happened exactly, according to the police, initially remained unclear. According to the Dutch broadcaster RTV Oost, one child was first resuscitated by bystanders and rescue workers. It was then taken to hospital by an ambulance pilot, but died there from its injuries. The second boy was reportedly also brought to a clinic in the presence of an emergency doctor. The man believed to have caused the explosion was arrested.
In the Netherlands there is actually a nationwide ban on firecrackers on New Year's Eve.
The government had imposed the ban for the second year in a row so as not to put additional strain on hospitals in the corona pandemic.
In 2019, more than 1,300 people had to be treated for injuries from fireworks.
In 2020, the number fell by 70 percent as a result of the ban.
sem / dpa / AFP
