3 boys hurt in firecracker blast

More than a week before the New Year revelry, three more boys suffered firecracker-related injuries.

The Department of Health (DOH) said the youngest victim was an 11-month-old baby, while the oldest was a 12-year-old.

The DOH’s Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction 2017 Report no. 2 showed four cases of firecracker-related injuries since December 21.

“This is seven cases lower than the same time period last year,” said part of the report issued on Saturday read.

Among the latest victims was a 12-year-old boy from Sampaloc, Manila, who suffered a blast injury on his right hand after using the popular but illegal firecracker, piccolo.

The boy, whose first to third fingers on the right hand were injured, is being treated at the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center.

Another boy aged 11 from Legazpi City, Albay was also hurt after using a piccolo.

The boy is being treated at the Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital after his first to fourth fingers on his left hand suffered blast injuries in the accident.

The youngest victim was an 11-month-old baby boy from Malate, Manila, who was injured even though he was not using firecrackers himself.

The baby boy suffered a blast injury on his left knee after he was hit with pop-pop, a firework that is legal. He was brought to the Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center for treatment.

In its first report released on Friday, the first ever victim of firecracker-related injuries for this year was an 11-year-old boy who was playing with a piccolo.

This means that of the four cases reported so far, three were caused by a piccolo.