Germany avoids repeat of New Year’s mass groping

Two people have died from fireworks injuries during New Year celebrations in Germany, but the country avoided a repeat of the mass groping in Cologne in 2016 amid heightened security to protect women from sexual harassment.

A 35-year-old man died after igniting fireworks in the Brandenburg region outside Berlin. A 19-yearold also sustained fatal head injuries after he set off a homemade device.

Hand surgeons at Berlin’s trauma hospital worked through the night treating 21 people, including five with amputation injuries

There were seven reported cases of sexual harassment in Cologne, while Berlin police arrested seven people as several hundred thousand celebrated at the city’s Brandenburg Gate.

Police sought to prevent a repeat of the New Year in Cologne in 2016 when hundreds of women were groped and robbed, mostly by groups of migrants. Large bags were barred from barricaded-off pedestrian party areas in Berlin and Frankfurt.