Health dept records 48 fireworks-related injuries since Dec. 21
MANILA, Dec. 26 (PNA) — The Department of Health on Monday reported 48 fireworks-related injuries since its monitoring began on December 21.
According to the department’s ‘Aksyon Paputok’ Injury Reduction (APIR) 2016 report, the figure is 56 percent lower compared to the five-year average from 2011 to 2015, and is 49 percent lower compared to the same period last year.
The report said 42 of the 48 cases involved males, while 34 involved children less than 15 years old. The youngest victim was 4 years old.
Of the 48, 27 suffered injuries to their hand, 13 to the eye, four to the arm, three to the abdomen, and one was a case of firecracker ingestion.
A total of 23 cases were caused by the ‘piccolo’, five by the improvised cannon called ‘boga’, five by the ‘whistle bomb’, three by ‘kwitis’, and the rest by ‘luces’ and other firecrackers.
The National Capital Region (NCR) still topped all other regions, with 25 cases.
The monitoring of firecracker-related injuries, which ends on Jan. 5, is done annually as part of efforts to discourage the public from lighting firecrackers to achieve zero casualty during the holiday season. (PNA)
