Fallas 2026 - Nieuws!

[Plum Bloom]

First round against mega-petardos in Valencia: surveillance in tourist apartments, European cars and the Turia garden

The Police intensify patrols in the face of the risk of illegal pyrotechnics in the 'super falla weekend' and gunpowder fans warn on networks: "It's going to be the game of the cat and the mouse"

——


"This weekend is going to be intense." A policeman stationed in a night group in the city of Valencia recognises him openly. The two days of the 'super fallero weekend' is presented with a high intensity in one of the aspects that most worries the Local and National Police in recent years: the danger of megafirecrackers and the incidence of illegal pyrotechnics during the Fallas. The operation of both bodies has been reinforced for this Saturday and Sunday, as police sources have confirmed to LAS PROVINCIAS. And also the intention of gunpowder fans to explode homemade artefacts: "It's going to be the cat and mouse game in Valencia."

This notice is launched by Pyroduohagen, a German fan who defines himself on the networks as a 'content creator with priotechnics' and who accumulates more than 20,000 followers on each of his Instagram and YouTube profiles. He does it with a post on one of his platforms that he accompanies with a video of the last holidays in Valencia. In the images you can see a group of European tourists throwing a carcass in the garden of the Turia las past Fallas. And everything indicates that many of these fans of illegal pyrotechnics will repeat the scenes and then broadcast the videos on the internet. The audiovisual loot of a risky practice that in 2024 made a young man lose part of his hand when a homemade firecracker exploded.

"Handmade Tracas". That's what the German YouTuber emphasises in another 'post' on his social networks. Precisely the main desire of the groups looking for secluded places in Valencia to launch their pyrotechnic artefacts. The Turia garden is one of the scenarios in which the Police will patrol intensely during these days. We must not forget the threat that in forums like Feuerwerk.net and Vuurwerkcrew.nl launched one of these fans, as LAS PROVINCIAS already published: "Vamos a demoliser el Palau" (referring supposedly and it is expected that in an ironic way to the Palau de la Música).

The fear of the Security Forces is that surveillance in the old channel will move uncontrolled explosions to other points. The environment of the old Formula 1 circuit, the port or the Navy are other areas where these groups usually meet.

The eyes of the agents in Valencia will be focussed on other points: the tourist apartments. These apartments are usually the destination chosen by this type of tourist. Germans, the Netherlands and Belgians are the ones who get carried away by the desire to light illicit wicks. These types of tourists stay more in apartments than in hotels. In these houses they even look for those that have terraces, as you can see some internet forums, to have a private place and away from the eyes of the Security Forces.

It will not be the only centre of attention of the patrols. There is another aspect that they will control a lot, especially during the weekend: the license plates of the cars. Passenger cars of European origin, especially Germany, Belgium or the Netherlands, will be specially controlled by the police. Many of them will be stoppy to the agents for the possible presence of pyrotechnic material in the trunks.

As LAS PROVINCIAS reported last week, the Security Forces also intensively monitor internet forums to dectate launch points or meetups. As published by this newspaper, in one of these forums, Vuurwerkcrew, another pyrotechnics afficionado asks about places to buy firecrackers in Valencia. "Where can I buy them? I don't want to deal with the police...", he says.

In fact, there is a fear between the Netherlands and Spanish authorities. In the European country, pyrotechnics have been banned since last January 1. They can only shoot it professionally and in organised shows. The veto of citizens is total. Obviously when every New Year's Eve in recent years in the Netherlands ends with endless incidents. An example: at New Year's End 2023, 1,200 injuries were reported from the launch of firecrackers.

Last year was already the 'war' in many points of the Fallas. It was also reported by LAS PROVINCIAS. Those responsible for the homemade megafirecrackers were exhibited in videos spread on social networks or YouTube by accounts such as 'Mr Pyro Manager' or 'Street Fire Worker'. In the recordings they showed the closest thing to bombs. That is the case of an artefact launched at the holidays and whose managers take out their chest for their power. 4.2 kilos, as can be read in the subtitles printed in the video.

The artefact was a kind of barrel of fuel manipulated so that it has a spike in its upper part that acts as a wick. The vandals threw him in the Turia gardens, at the height of Jacinto Benavente. The detonation left a rain of sparks almost 20 metres around and a cloud of smoke that exceeds 10 metres high, as the video showed.

The 4.2 kilos is not a trivial figure. The most forceful firecrackers that are launched in any mascletà of the big party of the city do not exceed 200 grams. These artefacts have a load and power 20 times higher than the legal and controlled ones that are fired at noon in the Town Hall Square.

https://archive.is/1rwCm

 

[Plum Bloom]

Ha ha ha, vuurwerkcrew.nl in het verdachtenbankje

As we speak: mijn hotel in de buurt van het vroegere F1-circuit. Kennelijk zojuist een meeting van de belhamels, niet te geloven wat er de lucht in ging

 

[VvanVuurwerk]

Wat voor vuurwerk is er te koop en waar?

Tijdens Las Fallas kun je in Valencia op veel plekken vuurwerk kopen en in iedere wijk zijn er wel winkels te vinden waar je consumentenvuurwerk kan kopen.

Er is één winkel die wij onder de aandacht willen brengen en dat is Casual Fireworks. Hier word je door Nederlanders geholpen en ben je verzekerd van goede prijzen en een mooi assortiment.

• Plaça del Canonge Roger Chillida
• in de wijk Jesús, 46017 València
• https://www.google.com/maps/search/39.445392,+-0.389868?entry=tts&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDIxOC4wIPu8ASoASAFQAw==&skid=c82f57b0-1b95-4542-a3c8-de58b9ac4a7c

Een weekje geleden ben ik bij deze nieuwe winkel langsgegaan. Ik heb een thread aangemaakt van de shop: Casual Fireworks Valencia

 

[Plum Bloom]

Offence against the firecracker wars in Russafa: "tradition and security must be reconciled"

Last year the neighbourhood became a "cohetódromo" that outraged neighbours and merchants

——


The City Council of Valencia, in collaboration with the Convivir Russafa platform and the different entities that make up the associative fabric of the neighbourhood, has launched the campaign entitled 'Don't exploit the Fallas. Aquí no', an awareness initiative, aimed at visitors and neighbourhood with the aim of promoting a responsible use of pyrotechnic material and preventing uncivil behaviour on public roads, especially during the holidays. Last year, firecracker wars took place in Russafa to the discontent of the neighbours and protests of the merchants.

This was announced this Wednesday by the president of the Municipal Council of Russafa District and Councillor for Tourism, Innovation and Investments, Paula Llobet, who presented this initiative, accompanied by representatives of neighbourhood associations, Fallas commissions, and commercial entities and the field of consumption of the district, in a call that has been held at the confluence of the streets of Sueca and Puerto Rico.

Tradition and security

Paula Llobet explained that the objective of the campaign is to "make the pyrotechnic tradition of the Fallas compatible with safety and coexistence in the neighbourhoods." In his opinion, "the Fallas are gunpowder and tradition but also harmony, respect and security; and pyrotechnics, which is part of our culture and our identity, must be used with responsibility and respect towards other people."

In Llobet's words, with this initiative the consistory wants to remember that "enjoying the Fallas also implies taking care of the public space and guaranteeing the safety of neighbours and visitors." The action will take place especially at the intersections of Sueca Street, one of the points with the highest concentration of people during the festivities, where in previous years "firecracker wars" and even the creation of improvised "cohetódromos" have been detected.

The purpose of the campaign is to strengthen prevention and make visible the risks associated with the uncontrolled use of firecrackers in spaces with a large influx of public, "appealing to individual and collective responsibility".

Security devices

The initiative will complement the work of the different security devices planned for the days of Fallas through awareness actions and informative presence on the street. It must be taken into account that Russafa is one of the neighbourhoods with the greatest falla activity in the city, and during the big week it receives thousands of visitors, who travel the streets and intersections to access some of the fallas of special section (Cuba-Literato Azorín or Sueca-Literato Azorín, among others), as well as the streets with award-winning festive lighting..

Por ello, la campaña también prestará especial atención a otras zonas de concentración de público, como las inmediaciones del Parque de Manuel Granero. Para trasladar el mensaje de forma cercana, la iniciativa contará con distintos soportes informativos distribuidos por el barrio, como carteles en farolas, material informativo en comercios y establecimientos hosteleros, así como contenidos audiovisuales y físicos en espacios y casales falleros.

Además, el mensaje se difundirá a través de los mupis (muebles urbano para presentación de información o de publicidad) y en el transporte público, con presencia en los autobuses de EMT València con parada o paso cercano por las calles de Russafa.

Informants in the streets

During the Falla week, the platform will also have the work of informants at street level, who will directly convey the prevention messages and distribute badges with the slogan of the campaign, with the aim of remembering in a simple and close way the importance of a responsible use of firecrackers.

They will also observe how firecrackers are used and what their impact is on the environment, both in public space and in the activities of shops, neighbourhood and visitors. The City Council recalls that these actions are complementary to the work of control and action of the police forces against the improper use of pyrotechnic material.

Urinals and containers

Along with the security component, the campaign also aims to contribute to improving cleaning and encouraging civility during the Fallas. To do this, the City Council and the Municipal District Board have designed a special signage - in Spanish, Valencian and English - that will be placed at different points of the streets and streetlights, and where the location of the temporary public urinals installed during the holidays will be indicated, as well as the new location of containers and waste collection points.

"The City Council of Valencia reaffirms its commitment to safe, civic and respectful Fallas with coexistence in the neighbourhoods," stressed Councillor Paula Llobet, while pointing out that "through this initiative, the consistory seeks to involve both neighbours and visitors in the responsible use of pyrotechnics and in the care of public space, with the aim that the celebration of the festivities takes place in a festive atmosphere, safe and compatible with the daily life of the de Russa defa district."

Likewise, from Convivir Russafa they remark, in a statement, that these actions are complementary and reinforce the work of control and action device of the police forces on the improper use of pyrotechnic material by citizens. However, the collective assures that it will maintain direct contact with the Local and National Police to transfer any serious incident, they point out.

Ofensiva contra las guerras de petardos en Russafa: 'hay que compatibilizar tradición y seguridad'

El año pasado el barrio se convirtió en un 'cohetódromo' que indignó a vecinos y comerciantes

www.levante-emv.com

Bekijk bijlage 25944

The campaign "Don't exploit the Fallas" rows against the tide at the Russafa cohetódromo

The mediation and messages of the Convivir Russafa campaign to raise awareness about the use of firecrackers have worked effectively in 75% of cases

—-

The awareness campaign on the responsible use of pyrotechnics is giving good results, they say from Convivir Russafa. The mediation and messages of the campaign "Don't exploit the Fallas" have worked effectively in 75% of the cases. In general, citizens value that the potential danger of firecrackers and the need to protect families, baby strollers and people in wheelchairs are remembered, and agree to move to safer areas where there is no public concentration.

During the interventions carried out between Friday and Sunday, from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., it has been possible to maintain the flow of families and visitors through Sueca Street to enjoy the illuminated streets without incident. The work will continue until Wednesday, March 18. On the other hand, Convivir Russafa emphasises the work and fundamental role of the Local Police, since their presence allows us to launch a deterrent message to those who do not attend to the messages of awareness and because exemplary fines are necessary to modify habits in the use of pyrotechnics. In this sense, the collective recognises their patience and capacity for punctual, surgical and exemplary intervention, especially in the moments of greatest influx in Russafa.

Being the first time that this type of campaign is carried out at street level, and considering the social permissiveness about the use of firecrackers, there is a lot of work to do to combat the low perception of risk that exists among people and avoid the normalisation of F3, even among children, they point out from the association. The truth is that Russafa continues to be one of the hot spots of the massive use of rockets at Josephine festivals and, as every year, roundabouts dedicated solely and exclusively to burning gunpowder in large quantities are formed, with firecracker wars included.

On the other hand, Convivir Russafa considers it necessary to involve establishments that sell firecrackers and review their operation, which should involve controlling sales hours, guaranteeing minimum distances of launching pyrotechnic material from stores and restricting sales to people under the influence of alcohol, among other measures."

Finally, from the platform they thank the support received by the Russafa District Board and the Departments of Tourism and Security for supporting this initiative, which allows to collect very valuable information to transfer proposals to the Falla side and improve both the security and the image of the neighbourhood.

La campaña 'No explotes las Fallas' rema contra marea en el cohetódromo de Russafa

La mediación y los mensajes de la campaña de Convivir Russafa para concienciar sobre el uso de petardos han funcionado de manera efectiva en un 75% de los casos

www.levante-emv.com

 

[Plum Bloom]

Fight to the mega firecracker: the Police follow up on groups of European tourists in Fallas

The control device reduces incidents with illegal pyrotechnics, with interventions by agents for launch without safety distance in the centre of Valencia and Ruzafa

—-

"It's been a very quiet weekend. I think they haven't done their own thing because they are more watched." The policeman who subscribes to these words has been starring in the pulse of each Fallas for years against a phenomenon: that of illegal pyrotechnics. Especially sposed and worrying in the last two editions of the party, in 2026 the fins were in full style. A massive arrival of European tourists (mainly German, Dutch and Belgian) was expected with a huge and dangerous love for the homemade making of mega firecrackers and their launch on the public road. And they have arrived, but the surveillance is having its effect.

Police sources consulted by LAS PROVINCIAS have pointed out one of the keys to the absence this year of incidents of scope: the agents are subjecting this type of travellers to a strict control, and even follow-up. As this newspaper has already advanced, many of these tourists choose tourist apartments to stay. These apartments have been one of the most controlled scenarios by the agents in order to prevent possible uncivil attitudes during the parties.

It has not been the only one of its focusses. The control and registration of cars with European license plates is being one of the constants of police patrols in the city. Investigators suspect that the pyrotechnic material that they then assemble in their homemade artefacts is actually received by courier or parcel. This was confirmed by the operation carried out last year by the National Police with a dozen Dutch and German tourists arrested.

This year, the Local and National Police have even had a pioneering reinforcement. The presence in the city of agents of the Netherlands Police. These, with the name 'Politie' on their uniforms, have already been seen these days in the city centre, the surroundings of the Turia garden and even during the shooting of the mascletaes.

And it is true that last weekend, the two most feared days, passed without incident. The main task during the afternoons and nights of the agents was to intervene in the launch of legal firecrackers but in unauthorised areas or too close to people. The non-respect of this safety distance motivated several interventions of the Local Police in points of Ruzafa, Plaza de la Reina, Roger de Lauria or Plaza del Ayuntamiento.

The gender was in this case confiscated. During the weekend, as reported by the City Council, there were several points where illegal or misused firecrackers ended up in the hands of the Local Police. In total, 45 minutes of intervention of pyrotechnic artefacts were drawn up. More than half of them, 28, in the Ruzafa neighbourhood, which makes it one of the nerve centres of the city against this type of uncivil behaviour.

'Don't exploit the Fallas'

In fact, Ruzafa has also been the scene this weekend of the awareness campaign initiated by the neighbours under the name 'Don't exploit the Fallas'. The objective is to prevent the 'firecracker wars' experienced other years in its streets, with the launch of artefacts in premises and complaints from residents.

"The campaign has worked effectively in 75% of cases," they say from Convivir Russafa. Members of the entity have walked around the neighbourhood these days warning of the "potential danger of firecrackers" and the need to launch them away from "families, baby strollers and people in wheelchairs." It was between Friday and Sunday, between six in the afternoon and ten at night, when these 'civic patrols combed Ruzafa, mainly in the environment of the faults with illuminated streets. And so they will continue until next Wednesday. All for some safer failures.

https://archive.is/0U9J4

 

[Plum Bloom]

The Prosecutor's Office asks for 5,5 years in prison for the 'pyrotechnic tourists' who detonated powerful homemade artefacts in the Fallas 2025

The prosecutor accuses them of the pitched battle with the National Police in the old channel during the Nit del Foc and considers that they acted to "generate chaos and fear"

Only five of the twelve detainees in Valencia have been formally charged by the Prosecutor's Office, which asks for the same sentence for each one: two years for public disorder and three and a half for attack on a law enforcement officer

——/

In 2023 and 2024, the alarm went off. And in 2025, it was remedied. The National Police arrested twelve German tourists, between 21 and 44 years old, whom they even accused of being part of a group with a "criminal structure", for mounting authentic pitched battles with homemade pyrotechnic devices in the riverbed, camouflaged between the rumble and the fallos revelry.

Now, the Prosecutor's Office asks for a joint sentence of 27 and a half years for five of them - seven are exonerated -, those against whom enough evidence has been found to try to put them in the dock of the Valencia Court. They are the so-called "pyrotechnic tourists", real fanatics of extreme pyrotechnic explosions. Among his exploits, having attacked the police and having caused injuries to an agent. That is precisely what can cost them the most sorrow.

The twelve arrests were made between March 13 and 19, 2025 at different stages. The National Police had been after the suspects since January last year, after detecting their activity through networks in which they announced that they would return to Valencia for Fallas, their Eldorado for the ease of access to pyrotechnic material and its use on the streets at any time of the day. None of them hid their fanaticism and they were usually recorded shooting all kinds of artefacts, most of them bought, but others, on the other hand, made by them.

The pitched battle after the Nit del Foc

Thus, as the police reported at the time through a statement, their intention when it came to coming as "pyrotechnic tourists" was twofold. On the one hand, they sought to launch authentic bombs taking advantage of the agglomerations of Fallas and, on the other, to stock up on material, especially black powder, to then transform it into extraordinarily powerful artefacts.

The Prosecutor's Office, after a year of judicial investigation, has chosen to accuse only five of those arrested. These are those arrested during the serious incidents that occurred during the Nit del Foc and that the prosecutor now recalls in his provisional classification of the facts. That night, there were plainclothes police agents camouflaged among the crowd, on the stretch of the river between the bridges of the Guardian Angel and that of the Kingdom, inside the special device to locate and stop those fanatics.

Once the shooting of the castle was over, when the people who had come to enjoy the Nit del Foc began to leave, the agents "heard numerous detonations of great power." Upon reaching the point where the noise came from, they found "at least a hundred people who threw at each other high-power firecrackers whose use is highly dangerous in human agglomerations," explains the prosecutor paraphrasing the police report.

Attack with firecrackers on the police

The police arrived just as two of the now accused, Stefan K. M. and Erick S., both Germans, who "incited and sustained the altercation," that is, jelled those who had joined the improvised firecracker war, "exploded a pyrotechnic artefact of great power near the crowd," with the consequent danger.

Far from ceasing in their attitude, when the police identified themselves and asked for their documentation, they "began to provoke the contestants" to attack the police. When they stopped the first two, the other three joined, Franz P., Kevin Carlos L. and Ricardo David A. M. -the latter was not even part of the group of 'pyrotechnic tourists', but took advantage of the tumult-, jelling the crowd and throwing powerful firecrackers against the agents, in an attempt to extend the conflict and get away from the Police, which finally managed to reduce them, "not without effort", and stop the five.

At that time, they were intervened "82 pyrotechnics of industrially manufactured without manipulations, belonging to seven different groups or categories" that contained "1,625 grams of net explosive content". In any case, it is not so much about what was confiscated - the rest that they were supposed to have not appeared - but about the contempt for the integrity of the hundreds of people gathered in the river with which they acted and which, the prosecutor maintains, had a single claim, "to generate chaos and fear."

And the 'bomb' of the clearing?

Thus, he accuses each of the five of a crime of public disorder and another of attack on law enforcement officers. For the first, he requests two years in prison and for the second, three and a half. That is, he asks that each of the five be punished with five and a half years in prison, in total, 27 and a half years.

Early on March 21 of that year, about a quarter to one in the morning, hours after the court released the five detainees and when the Fallas 2025 were already beginning to be history, a huge homemade artefact detonated in a clearing left the neighbours of Tomás de Montañana Street breathless and a significant gap in the place that the bomb had occupied, composed basically of black gunpowder. There were no injuries, but a street cleaning employee had to be treated for an anxiety crisis and a nearby dealer detected a crack in the window of the vehicle exhibition. That attack was presumed, but they have never been proven, so the Prosecutor's Office has not been able to include it in the list of charges.

La Fiscalía pide 27 años y medio de cárcel para los 'turistas pirotécnicos' que detonaron potentes artefactos caseros en las Fallas 2025

El fiscal les imputa la batalla campal con la Policía Nacional en el viejo cauce durante la Nit del Foc y considera que actuaron para 'generar caos y miedo'

www.levante-emv.com

 

[Juul]

Het Openbaar Ministerie eist 5,5 jaar gevangenisstraf voor de 'pyrotechnische toeristen' die krachtige, zelfgemaakte explosieven tot ontploffing brachten tijdens de Fallas 2025.

De officier van justitie beschuldigt hen van de hevige confrontatie met de Nationale Politie in het oude kanaal tijdens de Nit del Foc en is van mening dat zij handelden om "chaos en angst te zaaien".

Slechts vijf van de twaalf arrestanten in Valencia zijn formeel aangeklaagd door het Openbaar Ministerie, dat voor elk van hen dezelfde straf eist: twee jaar voor verstoring van de openbare orde en drieënhalf jaar voor het aanvallen van een politieagent.

——/

In 2023 en 2024 gingen de alarmbellen af. En in 2025 werd er een einde aan gemaakt. De Nationale Politie arresteerde twaalf Duitse toeristen, tussen de 21 en 44 jaar oud, die ze er zelfs van beschuldigden deel uit te maken van een groep met een "criminele structuur". Ze voerden namelijk authentieke veldslagen met zelfgemaakte pyrotechnische apparaten op in de rivierbedding, gecamoufleerd tussen het gerommel en het feestgedruis van de Fallos.

Het Openbaar Ministerie eist nu een gezamenlijke gevangenisstraf van 27,5 jaar voor vijf van hen – zeven zijn vrijgesproken –, degenen tegen wie voldoende bewijs is gevonden om hen voor de rechtbank van Valencia te brengen. Het gaat om de zogenaamde "pyrotechnische toeristen", echte fanaten van extreme vuurwerkexplosies. Onder hun daden hebben ze de politie aangevallen en een agent verwond. Juist dat kan hen het meeste verdriet kosten.

De twaalf arrestaties vonden plaats tussen 13 en 19 maart 2025, in verschillende fasen. De Nationale Politie zat de verdachten al sinds januari vorig jaar op de hielen, nadat hun activiteiten waren ontdekt via sociale netwerken waarop ze aankondigden dat ze zouden terugkeren naar Valencia voor Fallas, hun Eldorado vanwege de gemakkelijke toegang tot vuurwerk en het gebruik ervan op straat op elk moment van de dag. Geen van hen verborg hun fanatisme en ze werden regelmatig gefilmd terwijl ze allerlei voorwerpen afschoten, waarvan de meeste gekocht waren, maar sommige ook door henzelf gemaakt.

De hevige strijd na de Nit del Foc

Zoals de politie destijds in een verklaring meldde, hadden ze twee doelen voor ogen toen ze als "pyrotechnische toeristen" naar Fallas kwamen. Enerzijds wilden ze authentieke bommen afsteken door gebruik te maken van de drukte in de stad, en anderzijds wilden ze materiaal inslaan, met name buskruit, om dat vervolgens te gebruiken voor de productie van buitengewoon krachtige explosieven.

Na een jaar gerechtelijk onderzoek heeft het Openbaar Ministerie besloten slechts vijf van de arrestanten te vervolgen. Het gaat om degenen die werden gearresteerd tijdens de ernstige incidenten die plaatsvonden tijdens de Nacht van de Fanatieke, en die de officier van justitie nu in zijn voorlopige feitenoverzicht aanhaalt. Die nacht bevonden zich agenten in burgerkleding, gecamoufleerd tussen de menigte, op het gedeelte van de rivier tussen de bruggen van de Engelenraad en het Koninkrijk, in een speciaal apparaat om de fanatici op te sporen en te stoppen.

Nadat de beschieting van het kasteel was afgelopen en de mensen die van de Nit del Foc waren komen genieten, begonnen te vertrekken, hoorden de agenten "talrijke, zeer krachtige knallen". Toen ze de plek bereikten waar het lawaai vandaan kwam, troffen ze "minstens honderd mensen aan die elkaar met krachtige rotjes bekogelden, waarvan het gebruik zeer gevaarlijk is in grote groepen mensen", legt de officier van justitie uit, die het politierapport parafraseert.

Aanval met vuurwerk op de politie

De politie arriveerde net toen twee van de nu beschuldigden, Stefan KM en Erick S., beiden Duitsers, die "de ruzie hadden uitgelokt en in stand gehouden", dat wil zeggen, degenen die zich in de geïmproviseerde vuurwerkoorlog hadden gestort, "een zeer krachtig pyrotechnisch voorwerp in de buurt van de menigte tot ontploffing brachten", met het daaruit voortvloeiende gevaar.

In plaats van hun houding te laten varen, begonnen ze, toen de politie zich identificeerde en om hun legitimatie vroeg, de deelnemers aan te zetten tot een aanval op de politie. Nadat ze de eerste twee hadden tegengehouden, voegden de andere drie zich erbij: Franz P., Kevin Carlos L. en Ricardo David AM – de laatste maakte niet eens deel uit van de groep 'vuurwerktoeristen', maar profiteerde van de chaos –, stookten de menigte op en gooiden krachtige vuurwerkbommen naar de agenten in een poging het conflict te laten escaleren en aan de politie te ontkomen. Uiteindelijk slaagde de politie erin hen, "niet zonder moeite", in te dammen en de vijf te stoppen.

Destijds werden "82 industrieel vervaardigde, onbewerkte pyrotechnische artikelen, behorende tot zeven verschillende groepen of categorieën", in beslag genomen, die "1.625 gram netto explosieve inhoud" bevatten. Het gaat in elk geval niet zozeer om wat er in beslag is genomen - de rest had niet mogen verschijnen - maar om de minachting voor de integriteit van de honderden mensen die zich in de rivier hadden verzameld en die, volgens de aanklager, slechts één doel hadden: "chaos en angst zaaien".

En de 'bom' van de open plek?

Hij beschuldigt elk van de vijf dus van een misdrijf van verstoring van de openbare orde en een ander van een aanval op wetshandhavers. Voor het eerste eist hij twee jaar gevangenisstraf en voor het tweede drieënhalf jaar. Dat wil zeggen dat hij vraagt dat elk van de vijf vijf en een half jaar gevangenisstraf krijgt, in totaal 27 en een half jaar.

In de vroege ochtend van 21 maart van dat jaar, rond kwart voor één 's nachts, enkele uren nadat de rechtbank de vijf gedetineerden had vrijgelaten en de Fallas 2025 al bijna geschiedenis waren, ontplofte een enorme, zelfgemaakte bom op een open plek. De bewoners van de Tomás de Montañana-straat waren in shock en er was een aanzienlijk gat ontstaan op de plek waar de bom, voornamelijk bestaande uit zwart buskruit, had gezeten. Er vielen geen gewonden, maar een straatveger moest worden behandeld voor een paniekaanval en een nabijgelegen handelaar ontdekte een barst in het raam van zijn autotentoonstelling. De aanslag werd vermoed, maar is nooit bewezen, waardoor het Openbaar Ministerie deze niet in de aanklacht heeft kunnen opnemen.

La Fiscalía pide 27 años y medio de cárcel para los 'turistas pirotécnicos' que detonaron potentes artefactos caseros en las Fallas 2025

El fiscal les imputa la batalla campal con la Policía Nacional en el viejo cauce durante la Nit del Foc y considera que actuaron para 'generar caos y miedo'

www.levante-emv.com

Goedzo! Aanpakken dat tuig