About 250 arrests during New Year's in the Netherlands; and 1650 calls to the emergency number 112 in Rotterdam
The Netherlands experienced a chaotic New Year's Eve, with police arresting 250 people amid widespread violence targeting emergency teams, as well as fires and injuries caused by fireworks. The Rotterdam-Rijnmond area alone received 1,671 calls to emergency number 112, a 60 percent increase from last year.
Deputy Chief of Police Wilbert Paulissen reported that the disturbances began unusually early this year. Almost all available elements of the mobile intervention unit were deployed across the country, and water cannons were used in several cities. While the experimental tear gas added to the water was not used, larger canisters of pepper spray were deployed. In Breda, the police were attacked with Molotov cocktails and paving stones.
Two people died or were seriously injured due to fireworks, while other incidents also resulted in fatalities. Paulsen described the impact of heavy fireworks as 'devastating in certain areas,' noting that emergency teams witnessed extremely shocking situations. Justice Minister Fort van Oosten condemned the attacks on emergency workers, calling them 'incomprehensible and unacceptable.'
Fire departments responded to nearly 4,300 calls during the celebrations, an increase of more than four percent compared to last year. Most incidents involved burning cars, waste containers, and scooters, with several cases of emergency teams being targeted with fireworks. The head of Brandweer Nederland (Dutch Fire Service), Jolande Trijselaar, confirmed that the teams are there to help and not to be targets of attack.
The safety areas recorded a record activity. In Rotterdam-Rijnmond, there was an average of seven emergency calls per minute between midnight and three in the morning. In the Midden-West Brabant region, fire crews were called out 440 times, compared to 138 times last year, with most incidents being fires in containers, vehicles, or scooters. The police and the mobile intervention unit intervened in Tilburg, Breda, Rosendahl, and Bergen op Zoom to control the escalation of violence, and several arrests were made.