Boy, 4, loses fingers to ‘dart bomb’

MANILA: A four-year-old boy from Central Luzon lost all five fingers after a "dart bomb" exploded on his right hand, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Sunday. The boy also suffered burns on his neck due to the blast. It was one of the eight fireworks-related injuries that DOH logged from 6 a.m. Saturday to 5:59 a.m. Sunday. The new cases are all males with the oldest aged 37. Six cases occurred at home and on the streets while the other two were at designated areas. Meantime, five were due to illegal fireworks. The DOH expressed serious concern about how 'deadly and illegal fireworks' could reach the hands of young children. 'We are thankful that the Department of the Interior and Local Government as well as many LGUs (local government units) are heeding the call to have community fireworks displays instead,' the DOH said. 'We ask our police to crack down further on those selling illegal fireworks that find their way to destroy the hands and futures of Filipino children.' The agency has re corded a total of 115 fireworks-related injuries since Dec. 21. Forty-four (38 percent) of the reported injuries are from the National Capital Region, followed by Central Luzon and Ilocos Region with 13 cases each. Soccsksargen ranked third with nine cases; Calabarzon had six cases; and Cagayan Valley, Bicol Region and Western Visayas recorded five cases each. In Eastern Visayas, fireworks-related injuries rose to six as of Sunday. The latest additions were a nine-year-old male from Burauen, Leyte, who sustained head and eye injuries from lantaka (portable cannon); and a 33-year-old male from Guiuan, Eastern Samar who suffered multiple injuries in the lower extremities due to kwitis (mini skyrocket). The previous four victims were aged 6, 8, 11 and 24, all males. Boga (improvised cannon), Five Star, kwitis, Piccolo, luces (sparklers), Pla-Pla, whistle bomb, and other unlabeled items, including the dart bomb and imported fireworks, caused 72 percent of the cases. Illegal fireworks, particularly Boga, Fi ve Star, Piccolo and Pla-pla, caused 59 percent of the cases. Source: Philippines News Agency