Casualties of fireworks totaled 663 including one death in
Beijing in the Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations, according to the
municipal health authorities.
Improper use of fireworks was blamed for 420 cases, or 63
percent of the total, 13.51 percent higher than last year, from
Feb. 17 to 24 or the New Year's Eve to the seventh day of the Lunar
New Year, the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau said
Substandard fireworks wounded 120 others, a 0.87 percent
year-on-year increase, it said.
A 25-year-old man died of head injuries on the New Year's Eve
and another man, 21, had his eyeball removed, according to Beijing
Fireworks Administration Office.
More than 510,000 boxes of firecrackers went on sale in over
2,000 outlets in Beijing ahead of the celebrations which began on
February 17.
The city reported 654 casualties of fireworks during the same
period last year.
This was the second year since Beijing lifted a 12-year ban on
fireworks, which are traditionally believed to scare away demons
and bring good fortune.
The Beijing authorities banned firecrackers in 1994 due to
safety and environmental concerns, but lifted the ban in 2006 after
authorities said the industry had cleaned up its act.
The new regulations allow Beijing residents inside the fifth
ring road to let off fireworks all day on February 17 and 18 - New
Year's Eve and New Year's Day - and from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
everyday from February 19 to March 4.
(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2007)