TEHRAN: Iran’s annual fire festival ahead of the Persian New Year claimed three lives and injured more than 2,500, hundreds of whom remain hospitalized, officials said Wednesday.

Each year Iranians celebrate Chaharshanbeh-Soori, an ancient Zoroastrian tradition on the eve of the last Wednesday of the Iranian calendar, by jumping over bonfires.

But fireworks and improvised explosives are also used to mark the event, often causing casualties as public warnings against the revelry are largely ignored.

After initially giving an injured toll of only 259 nationwide, the official IRNA news agency said hours later that more than 2,500 had been hurt, many seriously and some critically.

Among the dead on Tuesday night was a 45-year-old man who suffered a heart attack brought about by an explosion, said Amin Saberinia, head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Service.

The other two fatalities were a 24-year-old man and a teenager, Saberinia told IRNA.

As of Wednesday, six people were in an intensive care unit, he said. And there were 31 amputations, mostly of hands and fingers, and 760 mild-to-severe eye injuries.