Many to lose eyes, arms celebrating New Year with fireworks

BERLIN – Nearly two dozen people were treated for serious firework injuries received during New Year’s Eve celebrations, including some requiring amputations, the city’s Unfallkrankenhaus (UKB), a hospital specializing in accident injuries, said on Monday.

Some 22 patients with serious eye injuries, burns and blast injuries to the hands and face have been treated, the hospital said on the online platform X.

The UKB spoke of “dramatic amputation injuries” in some cases.

The hospital significantly increased its operating capacity on New Year’s Eve, it said.

“Our team of hand surgeons is already warming up for the surgical marathon that night in several operating theatres,” the hospital announced on X on Sunday.