Pasig boy loses right hand after playing with leftover firecrackers

MANILA, Philippines—An 11-year-old boy in Pasig City ended up being one of 2014’s firecracker victims nearly a week after the New Year’s Eve revelry when the firecracker powder he and his younger brother had gathered exploded, resulting in him losing his right hand.

The police said that around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Mark Anthony Ng and his 8-year-old brother Mark Angel found some unexploded firecrackers, including the banned “Goodbye, Philippines,” in front of their house in Mangga 3, Nagpayong, Barangay Pinagbuhatan.

SPO1 Rolando Anselmo Jr. said the brothers took the powder from the leftover pyrotechnic materials and placed it in a tin can.

Anselmo said that Mark Anthony lighted the powder using a match but when it did not go off, the victim decided to add more powder.

As he was doing so, the powder exploded, hitting his right hand and parts of his face and body.

His brother who was a few meters away, suffered a wound in the right eyebrow. Both were taken to the hospital but Mark Anthony’s right hand was so damaged it had to be amputated. Jovic Yee