Boy dies in fireworks blast in Bulacan

MANILA, Philippines — A five-year-old child perished in an accident caused by fireworks in Bulacan Monday night, just days ahead of the New Year, police said.

The incident happened despite constant reminders from authorities on the possible hazards of using pyrotechnics.

Senior Superintendent Fernando Mendez, who heads the Bulacan provincial police, said that the boy was with his father on board a tricycle along a highway in Partida village in Norzagaray town at around 8 p.m. when the fireworks inside their vehicle exploded.

Noli de Silva took his son with him to Bocaue town to buy fireworks for the New Year and were on their way back home to Silala village in Guimba town, Nueva Ecija when the incident happened.

Mendez said that investigators believed that sparks from the exhaust pipe of the tricycle ignited the fireworks, causing an explosion.

De Silva and his son were rushed to the Norzagaray Municipal Hospital for treatment but the five-year-old victim eventually died, said the police official.

De Silva has since been transferred to the Philippine General Hospital.