Fire hit a 19th century temple in the middle of a night marked by deaths from fireworks and episodes of violence against the police
A fire destroyed, this Thursday (1st), a 19th century church in during the turbulent New Year celebrations in the Netherlands, with two deaths from fireworks and several violent acts against the police.
Flames broke out in the early hours of the morning at the 1872 Vondelkerk church. The 50-meter-high tower collapsed and the roof suffered serious damage, but authorities expect the structure to remain intact.
At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown. On the other hand, the president of the Dutch police union, Nine Kooiman, denounced a wave of “unprecedented violence” against the police and emergency services during the celebration of
Kooiman said she was hit three times by fireworks in Amsterdam and, in the city of Breda, several people threw Molotov cocktails at officers.
In addition, two people, a 17-year-old minor and a 38-year-old man, died in fireworks accidents, and three others were seriously injured.
Two deaths were also recorded in western Germany, in Bielefeld, due to the use of homemade pyrotechnic devices during New Year celebrations.
The two 18-year-olds “uncontrollably activated pyrotechnic devices that they made themselves” and “suffered fatal injuries to their faces”, according to local police.
*With AFP
