Carnival spectator injured in southern Germany

Eppingen's carnival season "Witches' Dance" which involves 2,000 people in masks and costumes, was the site of a serious accident on Saturday, police reported in the southern German town on Sunday night. 

Police spokeswoman Corinna Lüke said an 18-year-old spectator, who was also dressed as a witch, had been lifted on to a farm trailer where costumed revelers stood around a closed cauldron holding hot water.

"Another witch opened the cauldron and held the 18-year-old over it," Lüke told SWR news. "In the process, for reasons unknown, the legs of the young woman fell into the cauldron and as a result the 18-year-old suffered severe injuries."  

Police said the woman had stood up to her knees in the hot water.

A helicopter then flew her to a special clinic where she was treated for her injuries.

Marking 'Fasnacht'

Eppingen, a town of 21,000, lies northwest of Stuttgart, near Heilbronn, in Baden-Württemberg state.

It was the 16th edition of the carnival or 'Fasnacht' celebration and involved 77 groups or "combos" - from as far away as French Alsace, according to organizers and the newspaper Heilbronner Stimme.

Klaus Holaschke, Eppingen's Mayor told the newspaper: "Something like this should never happen." The incident is to be discussed in the city hall on Monday, he added.

Fasnacht or Fasching processions and events, marking the start of the traditional fasting period prior to Easter, are often celebrated with wooden masks across parts of southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg.

ipj/jm (dpa, SWR)