Firework-related injuries rise to 185
MANILA, Philippines - The number of firework-related injuries has reached 185 on New Year's Eve, according to the Department of Health (DOH).
The illegal piccolo firecracker remains the top cause of the injuries, accounting for 133 victims.
Majority of the injuries, which totaled 149, involved children less than 14 years old.
A total of 155 or 86 percent of the victims were males; 133 of them sustained hand injuries while 20 suffered head injuries.
A number of 142 victims were active igniters while the rest of the individuals who sustained injuries were passive or did not ignite firecrackers themselves were merely bystanders and innocent victims, according to a report.
"The 185 cases recorded so far were 308 cases or 62 percent lower than the five-year (2010-2014) average and 250 cases or 57 percent lower than the same period last year," DOH spokesperson Lyndon Lee Suy said.
The DOH also recorded one more case of stray bullet incident. The victim was a nine-year-old girl from Marikina City who have been hit in the left chest while inside their house.
The stray bullet victim was admitted at Amang Rodriguez Medical Center on Wednesday but was later on transferred to the Marikina Valley Hospital.
Meanwhile, the cases of fireworks ingestion remain zero, according to the DOH.
Most of the firework-related injuries were recorded in the National Capital Region with a total of 85 cases.
In the Bicol region, 31 cases were recorded while regions 11 (Davao) and IV-A (Calabarzon) recorded 15 cases each.
The DOH monitoring and surveillance of firework-related injuries started on December 21 and will end on January 5, 2016.
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