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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Argentina Christmas fireworks kill one, injure 100
2011-12-26
[Emirates 24/7] At least one person died and more than 100 were hospitalized in Argentina, some with serious burns and eye injuries, after they were hurt by Christmas fireworks, officials said Sunday.

Police said a 27-year-old in the central Santa Fe province died after a large firecracker went kaboom! in his mouth, in circumstances that were still under investigation.

In the capital Buenos Aires, medics worked over the holiday to treat scores of patients, including many children.

"We had a 20 percent increase over last year, with 57 patients admitted with severe eye injuries," said Fernando Pellegrino, head of emergencies at the Santa Lucia Eye Hospital in the capital Buenos Aires.
This may be a sign of prosperity, as more people are able to afford a dangerous tradition...or just statistical variation. Does anybody know the numbers for the last twenty years?
The Buenos Aires Burn Hospital treated 27 patients with burns from fireworks and firecrackers used by residents to mark holiday celebrations in Argentina's largest city, according to hospital official Miriam Minho.

"This year I have seen more severe injuries. In the past it was abrasions and superficial burns, but now 90 percent have exposed bones and muscle loss, and we had to amputate a finger," she said.
Or a sign that the bigger booms are more popular these days. Cherry bombs used to cause lots of problems in the U.S., back in the day.
She added that most of the burn victims were less than 14 years old, and that in the most serious case, an eight-year-old boy was on life support in the intensive care unit with burns on 38 percent of his body.

The injured also included an eight-month-old baby struck by a firecracker.

Scores of injuries were reported from other provinces as well.
Posted by:Fred

#5  As per #3, there have a handful of similar incidents here in Guam, usually because people shoot real bullets instead of blanks, fired either perpendicular or at steep angle in an urban area, + espec because they also forgot or ignored the elementary physics-science lesson(s) that "what goes up must also come down" + "for every action there is an equal + opposite reaction".
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2011-12-26 22:57  

#4  You should see or hear Diwali in India. Some of the generally available fireworks there, would be classified as munitions here.

Large fireworks that rattle windows and set off car alarms. And some of the 'pipe' rockets are quite impressive.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man   2011-12-26 12:56  

#3  In the Philippines they shoot off their guns at midnight on New Year's Eve. Straight up. Physics being what it is, there are plenty who end up in the hospital as a result.
Posted by: trailing wife   2011-12-26 07:23  

#2  Gromky,

You should have heard it here in SC on Christmas Eve. Sounded like rush hour in Baghdad.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2011-12-26 06:05  

#1  Huh. Christmas never really struck me as a hoot-n-holler, bang-bang holiday. But whatever...
Posted by: gromky   2011-12-26 01:10  

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