Over 470 fireworks injuries treated over New Year's
A total of 473 people were treated for firework injuries in the nearly 90 emergency departments in Dutch hospitals over New Year's, according to research done by NOS and VeiligheidNL. That is slightly less than the 480 people treated for fireworks injuries last year.
The decrease in fireworks injuries was much smaller this year than in the previous two years. In both 2015 and 2016 there was a 14 percent decrease, according to the broadcaster.
The number of eye injuries caused by fireworks increased this year. In 2016 about a quarter of all fireworks related injuries were eye injuries. This year it was more than a third. This year 16 people became blind in one eye, compared to 15 last year, and five people had to have an eye removed, compared to one last year.
Slightly less than a third of the emergency room patients had burns. A quarter had injuries to hands or fingers, less than last year's 33 percent. Plastic surgeons at AMC amputated one hand and a total of 25 fingers this year.
Almost two thirds of the people who sustained fireworks injuries this year were bystanders, not the people who lit the fireworks. Last year it was less than half. A third of the victims were younger than 20 years, compared to half last year. And a quarter of the injuries were caused by illegal fireworks, about the same as last year.
