Attacks, trampling, … Like the tragedy that occurred on New Year’s Eve in a bar in Switzerland, in the last 25 years, celebrations for the coming of the new year have been marred by .
Attacks
New Year’s Eve 2025 in New Orleans
Samsud-Dean Jabbar, a 42-year-old former US soldier, drove his pickup truck into a crowd on New Year’s Eve in the heart of New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring about 30 others.
He was later killed in a shootout with police in the French Quarter, a popular tourist area of this large city in Louisiana, in the southern United States. According to the police, the attacker in several of his videos had expressed his support for the Islamic State.
New Year’s Eve 2017 in Istanbul
At least 39 people, including 27 non-Turkish nationals, were killed and nearly 80 injured in a shooting at Reina, an upscale nightclub on the European side of Istanbul. The gunman, armed with a rifle, fired blindly into the New Year crowd before fleeing.
In a statement, Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack. An Uzbek, Abdulkadir Masaripov, was sentenced to life in prison in 2020 for the massacre.
New Year’s Eve 2004 in Indonesia
12 people were killed and 32 injured when a bomb exploded during a New Year’s Eve concert in a city in the Indonesian province of Aceh. Authorities blamed the attack on rebels from the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), separatists who were then targeted by the Indonesian military.
Trampling
New Years Eve 2023 in Uganda
10 people killed by trampling in Uganda. The victims, mostly aged 10 to 20, were among a crowd that had gathered in a narrow passage to watch fireworks outside the Freedom City shopping mall, south of the capital, Kampala. Organizers had blocked off most entrances to prevent those who hadn’t paid from entering.
New Year’s Eve 2015 in China
Shortly before midnight, on the Bund, a tourist avenue in Shanghai, more and more people flocked to the already crowded area, causing panic and a stampede that left 36 dead and 49 injured.
New Year’s Eve 2013 in Ivory Coast and Angola
63 people, including many young people, were killed and 48 injured in a stampede as a huge crowd of spectators left the Plateau administrative region of Abidjan after watching the fireworks.
On the same New Year’s Eve, at least 16 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a stampede at the entrance to a stadium in the capital Luanda, where a New Year’s prayer vigil was being held.
Fires
New Year’s Eve 2001 in the Netherlands
14 people died and 268 were injured in a fire that destroyed a cafe in Volendam, a port north of Amsterdam, on New Year’s Eve. Shortly after the arrival of 2001, sparklers were lit in the “Mikros Paradisos” cafe. Sparks lit fir branches hanging from the ceiling as Christmas decorations. A brief but intense fire caused panic, with people being pushed and trampled as they ran for the few and poorly lit emergency exits.
New Year’s Eve 2009 in Thailand
A fire destroyed the Santika nightclub in a district of Bangkok, killing 66 people and injuring more than 200. The fire was caused by fireworks during a performance by the rock band Burn.
