Police make 250 arrests during "violent" New Year celebrations - DutchNews.nl
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Police arrested some 250 people during what officers described as a violent New Year’s Eve, marked by widespread disorder, targeted attacks on emergency workers and a sharp rise in fires and emergency calls. At least two people died and others – including many children – were seriously injured in incidents involving fireworks in what was the last year before all but the lightest sort are banned from sale to consumers. “Almost all available riot police in the Netherlands were on...

“Almost all available riot police in the Netherlands were on duty. It was a truly maximum deployment that lasted for much of the night,” acting police chief Willem Paulissen said in a statement.

The emergency number 112 was briefly overloaded shortly after midnight, mainly because of the volume of fire reports. Major blazes included a fire that destroyed the Vondelkerk in Amsterdam, a sports hall in Bedum and a mattress shop in Hillegom.

Hospitals reported a heavy inflow of patients. The burn centre at the Martini hospital in Groningen treated 19 patients, about twice as many as last year, including 10 children under 15.