Fireworks incident in Limburg left a 36-year-old man dead
The person killed in a fireworks accident on Saturday was identified as a 36-year-old man from Leudal. A second person was also injured in the incident. Police refused to disclose details about their condition, gender and hometown. No arrests were made in the case.
The incident happened at about 8:30 p.m. in the garden of home on Rutjensstraat in Neeritter, a small village in central Limburg that lies along the Belgian border. The village is part of the Leudal municipality, but police would not say if the accident site was the victim's home.
Fireworks were being set off, and at some point, one exploded near the victim, police said. Rescue workers were sent to the scene, including an air ambulance, but efforts to revive the man were in vain. "The man appeared to have died from his injuries at the scene," police confirmed hours after the incident.
The cause of the accident is under investigation, including the type of fireworks used, and what triggered the explosion that killed the man.
It was the first time in a little over a year that fireworks were involved in an incident which caused someone's death. A 24-year-old man in Ridderkerk was killed on December 17, 2022, while setting off fireworks with a 29-year-old man. A powerful firework exploded in the man's face, leaving him dead at the scene.
Then, last New Year's Eve, a 23-year-old man was killed in a carbide shooting accident in Diessen, Noord-Brabant. He was with a group of about 40 friends and family when gas leaking from an oil drum ignited, triggering an explosion.
The detonation of carbide, a mixture of carbon and calcium, is not considered a use of fireworks in the Netherlands. Typically, an amount of carbide is placed in a milk can, and a bit of water is added to cause a reaction which releases gas. The milk can is sealed with a ball, and the gas is ignited from a small hole at the bottom of the can. The resulting explosion launches the ball a distance of dozens of meters.
