Underage drinkers treated on May Day Eve

finnishflagsThe night before May Day is a traditional time for celebration in Finland, and this year is no exception. However, a few underage drinkers partied a little too hard on this May Day eve.

In Helsinki alone, a total of 78 intoxicated young people required first aid treatment on May Day eve, and 14 of those young people needed to be sent to hospital. These figures are average for Helsinki May Day festivities.

Mirja Silajärvi, Helsinki city youth department director, said in a YLE interview that the youngest inebriated partygoer her department encountered on May Day eve was only 13 years old.

Silajärvi also said, however, that chilly weather emptied Helsinki’s streets at a relatively early time this year. She said the popular Helsinki gathering spot of Kamppi was completely deserted before 02:00 on 2 May.

The Aseman Lapset association,  Helsinki parish’s Saapas groups, and the Red Cross all helped the Helsinki city youth department’s May Day eve assistance operation.

Those who participated in the assistance operation patrolled Helsinki’s city centre streets from 17:30 on 30 April to 03:00. The operation also included drivers who patrolled Helsinki’s suburbs during this typically lively night.

Most of the 220 calls Helsinki emergency services fielded on May Day eve involved intoxication or physical injuries caused by fighting or falling. The emergency services of Finland’s capital took 175 calls during last year’s May Day eve and answer an average of 150 calls on weekend nights.