A young boy has lost his life in Rotterdam during yesterday’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. According to eyewitnesses, he was fatally injured when he was setting off fireworks.
The incident took place at around 8:30 PM on Rotterdam’s Spanjaardstraat.
Emergency services attempted to resuscitate the 14-year-old, but his life could not be saved, NOS reports.
Illegal fireworks
Speaking to a reporter from Rijnmond, eyewitnesses claim that the boy was setting off a Cobra (an illegal firework) when it exploded prematurely.
Mayor of Rotterdam, Carola Schouten, has responded to the tragic incident, calling for a nationwide fireworks ban, NOS reports.
Other serious injuries
Indeed, New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands saw many injuries from fireworks.
A 13-year-old boy in Zeeland was also left seriously injured yesterday after setting off a Cobra 6 firecracker. It is likely that he lost his hand as a result of the explosion, Omroep Zeeland reports.
The eye hospital in Rotterdam has reported 17 eye injuries as of this morning. According to the NOS, at least one person is now blind in one eye, and the youngest victim is just nine years old.
According to the hospital, at least 60% of these eye injuries were caused by legal fireworks, specifically, fireworks that were blown off course by the strong winds.
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