DOH: Firecracker injuries jump to 804

MANILA, Philippines - A day after the New Year revelries, the number of firework-related injuries in the country rose to 804, Health Assistant Sec. Eric Tayag said on Thursday.

Tayag said in his Twitter account that there were 793 firework injuries, two firecracker ingestion and nine stray bullet cases from Dec. 21, 2013 to 6 a.m. of Jan. 2, 2014.

The illegal firecracker piccolo still caused most of the injuries after it hurt 306 of the 793 victims (39 percent).

Among those injured by fireworks was a 16-year-old male by-stander from Payatas, Quezon City who lost his left eye due to the local skyrocket or baby rocket also known as "kwitis."

The total number of injuries now is 10 percent lower than the 894 recorded during the same period in 2012, according to Tayag.

He also noted that the number of injuries during New Year's Eve and New Year's Day decreased by 24 percent, or from 687 in 2012 to 520.

On Wednesday, the number of injuries was nearly 600 and was higher than the figure during the same period in the 2013 New Year celebrations.

But health officials also said on Wednesday that the injuries this year were "milder" and that fewer by-standers and children less than 10 years old were affected.

Metro Manila had the most number of injuries followed by the Calabarzon and Ilocos regions.

The Department of Health will end its count on Jan. 5.

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