Police in the Netherlands were bombarded with pyrotechnics on New Year’s Day and faced an “unprecedented amount of violence”, police officers there said on Thursday.
A 19th-century church in Amsterdam caught fire in the early hours of Thursday morning, although the cause of the fire is not yet known.
The Vondelkerk church, which overlooks the city’s largest park, the Vondelpark, has been a tourist attraction since its construction in 1872.
The fifty meter high tower of that church collapsed. Authorities said the roof was badly damaged, but the structure is expected to remain intact.
The neo-Gothic basilica was designed by the architect Pierre Cuypers, whose works include the Rijksmuseum.
Elsewhere in the Netherlands, a 17-year-old boy and a 38-year-old man died in fireworks-related incidents.
The head of the Dutch police union, Nine Kooiman, said she was showered with fireworks and other explosive devices during her shift in Amsterdam.
The amount of violence was “unprecedented,” she said.
The ban on unofficial fireworks should come into effect in 2026. According to the Dutch Association for Pyrotechnics, a record 129 million euros were spent on it this year.
