Two young men damaged a cigarette vending machine in Bad Ems using a powerful New Year's firecracker or a homemade explosive device. The incident occurred on the second day of Christmas, but the perpetrators did not obtain any money or cigarettes. Police are now investigating the type of explosive used.
In Bad Ems in the Rhein-Lahn district, an attempted explosion targeted a cigarette vending machine on December 26. According to a police spokesman, the two young suspects inserted the firecracker or "something self-built" into the machine's dispensing slot and ignited it. The blast produced a loud bang and damaged the device, but yielded no success for the perpetrators.
The spokesman stated: "The machine was damaged by the explosion on the second day of Christmas." The men failed to access the goods or money. The precise nature of the explosive—whether a powerful New Year's firecracker or a homemade device—remains unclear and is the focus of the police investigation.
Such incidents are not uncommon around the holiday season, but here it resulted only in property damage without further consequences. Police are seeking witnesses and working to identify the suspects. Bad Ems, a small town in Rhineland-Palatinate, is temporarily in the spotlight due to this criminal act.
