Numerous incidents involving fireworks and and fires kept Switzerland’s emergency services busy on New Year’s Eve, reported SRF.
The worst incident was the death of a 46-year old man in the canton of Luzern who died when a homemade device for firing fireworks exploded. The man died at the scene of the explosion.
Two people were seriously injured in the cantons of Zurich and Aargau while using fireworks. One was a 41-year old man in the canton of Zurich. The other was 16 year old boy who suffered serious head injuries along with another who received less serious injuries to his hands.
In Valais at the ski resort of Verbier a gondola lift had to be evacuated due to a bush fire. The fire appears to have been started by people firing fireworks from a gondola. The fire was eventually extinguished by 14:30 said the Valais Police.
The Zurich fire service was kept busy with more than two dozen fire callouts due to the mishandling of fireworks, reported SRF. Fireworks caused fires in a basement and on balconies in several apartment buildings and in a retirement home.
Overall, the situation was relatively calm compared to an average new year period, according to most emergency services reports.
More on this:
SRF article (in German)
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