One person was killed and 270 others were injured in Beijing by
firecrackers during Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, according to
municipal authorities.
A 25-year-old man was seriously injured in the head when
igniting fireworks on Saturday and died in hospital early Sunday
despite doctors' efforts, said Daxing District People's Hospital
sources.
Two other men, aged 21 and 30 respectively, had to have one
eyeball removed because of serious injuries from fireworks,
according to sources with No. 3 Hospital affiliated to Peking
University and No. 304 Hospital.
The city reported a total of 270 fireworks injury cases between
Saturday and Sunday and 249 fires caused by fireworks, said the
Beijing Fireworks Administration Office.
The wounded included four children aged between six and nine,
who were burnt in the face when igniting powder extracted from
firecrackers.
Fireworks are part of traditional celebrations marking the
Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, which fell
on Sunday this year.
Since Beijing lifted a 12-year ban during last year's Spring
Festival, fireworks have made a loud return to the Chinese
capital.
The sales of fireworks by two major suppliers had reached
380,000 boxes in Beijing, compared with 240,000 boxes last year,
according to a municipal public security official.
"We had confiscated 560 million illegal firecrackers, but there
were still a certain quantity of fireworks flowing into Beijing
that exceed safety standards," said an official.
All serious injuries were caused by the powerful fireworks that
should have been set off by special ignition workers rather than
individual residents according to regulations, the official
said.
Last year, 779 people were wounded by fireworks and admitted to
hospitals in Beijing during Spring Festival celebrations, but no
deaths or eyeball removal cases were reported.
(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2007)