(Eagle News) – The number of firecracker-related injuries experienced a significant drop this year with the estimates ranging at 350, down from the average of 1,000 from the past 10 years.
This was the lowest in 10 years, according to the Department of Health.
Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial said 350 were injured by firecrackers and fireworks this year compared to a 10-year average of 1,000.
Ubial said most of the victims are children and the trend continued this year, with a three-year-old suffering a hand injury at Cabanatuan in the centre of Luzon island.
The worst case involved a 15-year-old girl, who slipped into a coma after a stray bullet hit her head while she was watching a fireworks display in Manila’s neighbouring district of Malabon.
“This is one of our saddest incidents,” Ubial said.
“Even if it’s now down to 350 (injuries), that is still a lot of misery.”
Of the 350 cases, DOH said 348 were from fireworks and firecracker injuries, while two cases were caused by firecracker ingestion.
The injuries due to the firecracker piccolo topped the list of the most injurious firecrackers.
Other fireworks like fountains, luces and kwitis also caused injuries during the New Year’s Eve revelries.
Ubial said that 58 percent, or more than half of the victims were children below 15 years old.
The highest number of firecracker injuries nationwide was reported in Metro Manila, with 211 cases or 60 percent of injuries reported coming from the region.
Thirty-eight percent of the cases were from Manila, 23 percent from Quezon City and 11 percent from Makati.
After Metro Manila, Western Visayas came in second with 10 percent of cases on firecracker injuries, while reports from Central Luzon took up 8 percent of firecracker injuries in the country.
The Department of Health credited the decline in firecracker-related injuries to the DOH’s “Iwas-Paputok” campaign.
President Rodrigo Duterte has earlier asked the public not to use dangerous firecrackers anymore.
(with a report from Agence France Presse)
