Flowers laid at spot in Rotterdam where a young boy died after firework accident 

Various people have laid flowers at the tram track on the Spanjaardstraat in Delsfhaven, Rotterdam, where Jack, a 14-year-old, passed away due to an accident with fireworks on New Year’s Eve. The boy tried to light a Cobra-6 firework for the second time.

Footage on social media showed Jack's mother and brothers by the scene. The mother told RTV Rijnmond that her son loved fireworks and would be involved with it all year but added that he was always careful. The brother, who saw the incident, said that the firework exploded straight after it was lit and that the boy died instantly.

“I was never afraid that this could happen. He always kept such a distance that it was almost impossible to see what he had just fired.” the mother told RTV Rijnmond. She does not live with her children anymore. She was on her way back to Rotterdam from her home in Belgium to spend New Year’s with her children when the incident happened.

She saw her son on the tram tracks when she got to Rotterdam. "The force of the explosion hit exactly on his left side. So, his lung was also destroyed immediately. There was no saving it. Maybe if the blow had hit his legs, it would have been okay. But it tore away his entire left chest."

The firework was what is called a shell. It is a category 4 firework. It is placed in a tube before it is ignited. This is then followed by the rising charge of the shell, the piece of fireworks, shooting out of the tube into the air, where it explodes.

Trams from the RET are going to drive at a slower pace when passing the memoriam today. If the number of flowers at the scene increases, then trams are going to take a detour to avoid it.