AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS
At least 212 more people, including three one-year-old children, suffered fireworks-related injuries at the height of the New Year’s Eve revelry, while a 38-year-old man died in a fire which hit an area where firecrackers were stored.
The additional cases brought to 328 the number of firecracker victims between Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
However, since the DOH started its monitoring on Dec. 21, the total number of fireworks-related injuries has reached 443, surpassing last year’s official count of 307 cases.
It also confirmed one death although the Philippine National Police earlier reported at least four fatalities.
The DOH said the latest fatality was a 38-year-old man from the Ilocos region who lit a cigarette while having drinks with other people near a storage for firecrackers. The incident created a fire which eventually killed the victim.
A 23-year-old man from Davao region, on the other hand, was shot in the back in a case of indiscriminate gun firing on Dec. 31, it added.
“Responsible gun owners know that bullets that go up will go down, and discharging firearms is not a way to celebrate the New Year,” the DOH said.
Of the 212 firecracker victims, three were children who were all just a year old. One was a boy from Central Luzon who suffered face lacerations and bruises around his left eye after he was hit by an unknown type of firecracker inside his house.
The other victim, a resident of Eastern Visayas, was also injured at home by unknown firecrackers that caused lacerations on her forehead.
The third victim, a girl living in Metro Manila, suffered first-degree burns on the face caused by a “kwitis” while watching the New Year celebration in the street.
Of the 443 firecracker victims, 17 had to undergo amputation while 122 were treated for eye injuries, including one who lost an eye. At least two people reportedly suffered hearing loss due to fireworks. —WITH A REPORT FROM RUSSEL P. LORETO INQ