THE HAGUE
\nA huge inferno gutted a 19th-century Amsterdam church Thursday, as the Netherlands endured an unsettled New Year\u2019s Eve with two dead from fireworks and \u201cunprecedented\u201d violence against police.
\nThe blaze broke out in the early hours at the Vondelkerk, a tourist attraction that has overlooked one of the city\u2019s top parks since 1872.
\nThe 50-metre-high (164-foot) tower collapsed and the roof was badly damaged but the structure was expected to remain intact, Amsterdam authorities said.
\nThe cause of the blaze was not immediately clear.
\nThe head of the Dutch Police Union, Nine Kooiman, reported an \u201cunprecedented amount of violence against police and emergency services\u201d over New Year\u2019s Eve.
\nShe said she herself had been pelted three times by fireworks and other explosives as she worked a shift in Amsterdam.
\nShortly after midnight, authorities released a rare country-wide alert on mobile phones warning people not to call overwhelmed emergency services unless lives were at risk.
\nReports of attacks against police and firefighters were widespread across the country. In the southern city of Breda, people threw petrol bombs at police.
\nTwo people, a 17-year-old boy and a 38-year-old man, were killed in fireworks accidents. Three others were seriously injured.
\nThe eye hospital in Rotterdam said it had treated 14 patients, including 10 minors, for eye injuries. Two received surgery.
\nIt was the last year before an expected ban on unofficial fireworks, so the Dutch bought them in massive quantities.
\nAccording to the Dutch Pyrotechnics Association, revellers splashed out a record 129 million euros ($151 million) on fireworks.
\nSome areas had been designated firework-free zones, but this appeared to have little effect.
\nAn AFP journalist in such a zone in The Hague reported loud bangs until around 3am.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE HAGUE A huge inferno gutted a 19th-century Amsterdam church Thursday, as the Netherlands endured an unsettled New Year\u2019s Eve with two dead from fireworks and \u201cunprecedented\u201d violence against police. The blaze broke out in the early hours at the Vondelkerk, a tourist attraction that has overlooked one of the city\u2019s top parks since 1872. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523326,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-523304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n