Firecracker blast hurts 2 in Negros town

BACOLOD CITY—Two persons were seriously wounded on Friday when firecrackers exploded inside a makeshift factory in Sitio Kahilwayan, Barangay Gargato, Hinigaran town, 60.3 kilometers south of here.

Jesus de la Torre, 34, who owns the factory, and his helper, Cecille Santillan, suffered second degree burns, according to PO2 Joseph Partidas of the Hinigaran police.

De la Torre has a license from the Firearms Explosives Security Service Agency and Guards Supervisory Section of the Philippine National Police to manufacture firecrackers.

Firecracker factories, which are made of nipa huts, abound in Sitio Kahilwayan, a remote subvillage in Hinigaran, which is considered as the firecracker capital of Negros Occidental.

Police said De la Torre was cutting wicks for firecrackers inside his makeshift factory when it created a spark that triggered the explosion. Fire broke out and razed the nipa hut, said PO2 Partidas.

De la Torre and his helper, Santillan, were brought to the Hinigaran Emergency Clinic and transferred to the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital in Bacolod City.

The coming holidays have ushered in a spike in demand for firecrackers. The Department of Interior and Local Government has ordered police nationwide to inspect firecracker factories.