Fireworks let off during this year’s New Year celebrations led to 23 people becoming blind in one eye, the Dutch eye specialist association NOG said on Monday.

In total, 101 eyes were permanently damaged during the festivities, the NOG said.
Over the past five years, 111 eyes have been blinded in New Year firework accidents.
‘This means all these people can no longer do their jobs or have to find other work,’ the NOG’s fireworks expert Tjeerd Faber told news agency ANP. ‘In the case of children, they will no longer be able to achieve their dreams.’
The NOG wants a ban on the sale of fireworks to the general public.