1 dead, 23 hurt from fireworks

Emergency units at different hospitals received and treated 23 cases of burns to the face and hands and recorded one death due to fireworks explosions over the last two days.
Seven cases were in Baha and the other 17 were in areas near Taif.
Siraj Al-Humaidan, spokesman for Health Affairs in Taif, said cases ranging from moderate to critical were taken to the emergency units of King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital and the King Faisal Hospital in Taif.
Al-Humaidan said emergency unit doctors were expecting injuries among young children, but cases involved young people over the age of 15. One victim was 40 years old. Emergency units also receive an increasing number of burn cases yearly as a result of firecrackers.
Doctors appealed to parents to not to allow their children to buy these fireworks, which results in the injuries and deaths of tens of youngsters every year.
Hospitals in the Baha area received around seven cases of people injured in fireworks accidents, in addition to six people injured in traffic accidents.
Ahmad Al-Zahrani, spokesman for Baha Health Affairs, said the number of injured received by hospitals in was 13. Al-Mundaq General Hospital received seven cases, four of which were caused by fireworks. Three cases resulted from road accidents with moderate injuries.
Al-Zahrani said Biljarashi General Hospital received a 12-year-old, who was hit by a vehicle, bruising his left foot and causing stomach pains. He was kept under observation after X-rays were taken.
A 14-year-old boy was taken to Biljarashi hospital after being struck by shrapnel and dust in his right eye from a firework explosion. He was kept under observation and his condition is stable, he said.
King Fahd Hospital in Al Baha reported four cases. Two people had injuries to their faces. The third injury was to the back as a result of a motorcycle accident, and fourth involved in a traffic accident.
Jeddah police Lt. Nawaf Al-Bouq said fireworks were virtually non-existent inside towns because of the awareness campaigns that were carried out by the Interior Ministry, pointing out a small number of cases have been registered in faraway places.
Abdullah Al-Theibah, spokesman of the General Directorate of Civil Defense in Al-Baha, said there was a joint committee with the police to pursue those who sell firecrackers.
“We are joining forces with police teams in committees to arrest sellers and confiscate what they have and deliver them to police stations, because they are a source of danger when they explode, emit smoke or spread dust and sparkles around empty mountainous area that may create disasters,” he said.
Baha Police Lt. Col. Saad Traad said earlier there has always been the intention to seize and confiscate firecrackers in conjunction with other parties and destroy them without hesitation, as they are dangerous for the children who use them with joy turning to sorrow.