Firework accidents kill two in Netherlands as fire ravages Amsterdam church

In the Netherlands, fireworks accidents have claimed two lives, and there have been reports of violent incidents as the country celebrated its first year. A 19th-century church in Amsterdam was largely destroyed by a fire in a separate incident.

The Neo-Gothic Vondelkerk, a tourist attraction that has dominated the capital city’s central Vondelpark since 1872, was the site of the fire that started early on Thursday.

The 164-foot tower’s 50-meter height collapsed, and the roof suffered severe damage, but the structure was supposed to remain intact, according to Amsterdam authorities.

Not immediately known what caused the fire. By morning, emergency services had managed the situation.

The church’s fire did not cause any harm.

About 90 homes were temporarily without power, and a large number of apartments in the area were evacuated.

Sparks grew in the flames as a result of strong winds.

According to Dutch media reports, “This monumental church is a very intense and terrible fire,” according to Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema. The immediate residents’ well-being and homes are now our top priorities.

Up until 1977, The Vondel Church served as a Roman Catholic church. It was most recently used for other purposes and special occasions like concerts. The original tower of the church was destroyed in a fire in 1904.

Separately, Nine Kooiman, the head of the Dutch Police Union, reported an “unprecedented amount of violence against police and emergency services” across the nation on New Year’s Eve, when 250 people were detained and in several towns riot police were deployed.

Kooiman claimed that during her shift in Amsterdam, fireworks and other explosives had pelted her three times.

People reportedly threw gasoline bombs at police in Breda, a city in southern Spain.

A 38-year-old man was killed in a separate fireworks accident in Aalsmeer, close to Amsterdam, and a 17-year-old boy from Nijmegen, a town in the east of the nation, according to police. Three people suffered serious injuries.

The Rotterdam eye hospital reported treating 14 patients for eye injuries, including 10 minors. Both had surgery.

The final year since New Year’s Eve 2025 saw the introduction of a consumer-friendly nationwide ban on fireworks sales.

The Dutch Pyrotechnics Association estimates that revelers spent a record 129 million euros ($151 million) on fireworks.

Although some locations had been made firework-free zones, the results appeared to be insignificant.

Up until about 3 a.m., a journalist for the AFP news agency in this area of The Hague reported loud bangs.

Other European nations have reported instances of violence.

Police in Belgium, for instance, made numerous arrests because Belgian officers were targeted with fireworks in Brussels and Antwerp, with a New Year’s ban on their use failing to stop chaotic scenes in both cities.

In the port city of Antwerp, where children as young as 10 and 11 were detained by police using tear gas and setting fire to cars, cars, and trash cans, more than 100 people were detained, according to a spokesperson for the police.

According to the spokesperson, authorities seize a number of “very dangerous” professional fireworks.