Stray bullets injure 2 in Cebu; firecracker blasts hurt 42 in Central Visayas

Firecracker vendors display their wares at the back of Sugbu building at the South Road Properties (SRP) in this December 2015 file photo.

At least 42 people were reportedly injured due to firecracker blast while two others were victims of stray bullets in Central Visayas at the height of the revelry to welcome the New Year, a Department of Health official in the region said.

Most of the victims had minor burns but six sustained eye injuries, according to DOH Regional Epidemiological and Surveillance Unit (Resu-7) data from the evening of December 31, 2016 until 11 a.m. of January 1.

Both of the stray bullet victims were from Cebu, said Rennan Cimafranca, chief of Resu-7.

He said that the cases of firecracker blast injuries in Cebu came from the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Naga and Toledo and the town of Dumanjug. No death was reported.

For the two stray bullets incidents, Cimafranca said that cases came from Consolacion and Mandaue City.

“In Consolacion the victim is a 13 year old boy who was hit on his right chest. For Mandaue City, the victim was a 56-year old man hit on his back,” Cimafranca told Cebu Daily News.

In Bohol, there is one reported with blast/burn amputation, two blast/burn without amputation and two eye injuries.

In Negros Oriental, there was one reported with blast/burn amputation.

He said that most of the common firecrackers used this year’s revelries were piccolo, whistle bomb, five star, rapid, fountain, flying tiger, triangle, boga, super lolo, dragon and Judas belt.

Last year, there were 62 blast injuries in Central Visayas over the same time period.

Cimafranca said the decreasing trend was not yet conclusive since they were still waiting for other reports to come in until January 5.