The accident happened in a field in the district of Neunkirchen in Lower Austria. In Vienna, a 17-year-old is said to have been raped on Saturday night.
Ternitz. In St. Johann am Steinfelde, a cadastral municipality of Ternitz (district of Neunkirchen), an 18-year-old died on New Year’s Eve when a pyrotechnical object exploded. The so-called ball bomb had detonated too early. Three other people were injured, one seriously. The victim of a firecracker accident in the Krems district was in mortal danger on Sunday afternoon.
The scene of the incident in the Neunkirchen district was a field shortly before 0.30 a.m. Several local youths shot ball bombs there. According to the police, around 50 centimeters long plastic tubes were placed. The 18-year-old who was killed may have been in the immediate vicinity of the firecracker during the explosion. The exact course of the accident was initially unclear. In addition, it was not exactly clear which fireworks category the ball bombs used belonged to. The crime scene was cordoned off and the Lower Austria State Criminal Police Office took over the investigation.
The accident prompted a large rescue effort. Another 18-year-old was seriously injured and flown to a hospital in Graz by emergency helicopter. A 17- and a 19-year-old suffered injuries. They were transported to the state hospital in Wiener Neustadt by ambulance. A resident reported a large “consistency of people”: Everything was “full of emergency vehicles”.
In addition to the incident in the Neunkirchen district, there were two other firecracker accidents with serious consequences in Lower Austria on New Year’s Eve. In Lichtenau in the Waldviertel (Krems district), a 16-year-old was seriously injured in the explosion. The teenager was flown to a hospital. According to police reports from Sunday afternoon, his life is in danger.
In Kollmitzberg, a cadastral district of Ardagger in the Amstetten district, a 19-year-old had several fingers torn off by a firecracker. In addition, some other people suffered blast trauma from this explosion. Several fires were also recorded. According to the police, among other things, a shell and a carport were on fire.
Rape in Vienna Stadtpark
In Vienna’s Stadtpark, a 17-year-old was said to have been sexually abused and raped by three unknown men on Saturday night at around 1:20 a.m., the police said on Sunday. Specifically, the victim stated that he had been sexually abused by one of the men and raped by a second, says a police spokeswoman when asked by “Press”. She could not provide any information on the involvement of the third man.
The 17-year-old was out with her friends and was approached by the trio in the park. The young woman moved away from her companions with the men. After a while, they became worried about their friend and went looking for her. When they found her and approached her, the three men fled. The search for them was initially unsuccessful.
Around 1900 missions in Vienna
On New Year’s Eve, the Vienna police carried out a total of around 1,900 operations – mostly due to property damage and the illegal ignition of fireworks. In the districts of Josefstadt, Simmering, Favoriten, Meidling, Floridsdorf and Liesing, cigarette machines, rubbish bins and telephone booths were damaged by pyrotechnical objects. At the Praterstern, a 19-year-old threw lit firecrackers in the direction of the officers with the intention of injuring them. The 19-year-old Afghan was arrested.
Young people came together in the Mitterhofsiedlung in Floridsdorf and set off numerous pyrotechnic objects. People masked with storm masks and scarves also threw firecrackers at intervening officials. A total of 221 identity checks were carried out during this operation and numerous criminal and administrative law reports as well as reports under the Pyrotechnics Act were filed. Three people were arrested. There were 131 reports and 24 penalties under the Pyrotechnics Act across Vienna. 87 kilograms of pyrotechnic objects were seized. There were no noteworthy incidents on the New Year’s Eve trail with 800,000 visitors.
There were no riots in Linz
In Linz, the incidents feared after youth riots on Halloween did not materialize. The police were armed, but only had to go out for smaller operations. A 24-year-old from the Schärding district was seriously injured in the face by an F4 class ball bomb. According to the police, he had placed them upside down. Pyrotechnic articles in this class may only be used by persons aged 18 and over with specialist knowledge. In Wels, young people in the Noitzmühle district ignited large amounts of pyrotechnics and shot firefighters and police officers with firecrackers. Nobody was seriously injured. (kb)
(“Die Presse”, print edition, 02.01.2023)