Fireworks deaths, unrest and church blaze mar New Year in the Netherlands

New Year celebrations in the Netherlands were overshadowed by deadly fireworks accidents, outbreaks of violence and a major fire that tore through a historic church in Amsterdam.

Two people were killed in separate fireworks incidents, while police reported widespread attacks on officers and emergency workers as revellers rang in the new year. In the capital, a blaze in the early hours of Thursday largely destroyed the 19th-century Vondelkerk, a landmark overlooking the city’s central park.

The fire broke out at the Neo-Gothic church shortly after midnight. Authorities in Amsterdam said the 50-metre-high tower collapsed and the roof was badly damaged, although the main structure was expected to remain standing. No injuries were reported, but dozens of nearby homes were evacuated and around 90 households temporarily lost power.

“It is a very intense and terrible fire in this monumental church,” Mayor Femke Halsema was quoted by Dutch media as saying. “Our first concern and priority now is the wellbeing and homes of the immediate residents.”

Strong winds fuelled the flames and sent sparks flying across the area. The cause of the fire was not immediately known. The Vondelkerk, completed in 1872, stopped functioning as a Roman Catholic church in 1977 and has since hosted concerts and events. Its original tower was destroyed by fire more than a century ago, in 1904.

Elsewhere across the country, police described a night of exceptional violence. The head of the Dutch Police Union, Nine Kooiman, said there was an “unprecedented amount of violence against police and emergency services” during New Year’s Eve. About 250 people were arrested nationwide, with riot police deployed in several towns.

Kooiman said she herself was hit three times by fireworks and other explosives while on duty in Amsterdam. In the southern city of Breda, officers were targeted with petrol bombs.

Fireworks accidents proved fatal in two cases. A 38-year-old man died in Aalsmeer near Amsterdam, and a 17-year-old boy was killed in Nijmegen in the east of the country, police said. Three other people were seriously injured. An eye hospital in Rotterdam treated 14 patients for eye injuries, including 10 minors, with two requiring surgery.

The chaos came as the Netherlands prepares for a nationwide ban on the sale of fireworks to consumers, due to take effect next year. Despite designated firework-free zones, enforcement appeared limited. According to the Dutch Pyrotechnics Association, spending on fireworks hit a record 129 million euros this year.

Violence linked to fireworks was also reported elsewhere in Europe. In Belgium, police in Brussels and Antwerp made scores of arrests after officers were targeted with fireworks, stones and petrol bombs, despite local bans.