Eye hospital operates on seven with fireworks injuries, another planned for Thursday

So far, 27 people have been admitted to the Rotterdam Eye Hospital with eye injuries caused by fireworks. Seven people underwent surgery on Wednesday, and an eighth surgery was scheduled for Thursday. These are preliminary figures which may increase further, the specialized clinic emphasized.

Out of the 27 patients, two of them are girls under the age of 18, and about 11 others are boys. The rest are adult men. In total, half of the patients did not light the fireworks themselves, but stood nearby. One of the victims was definitely blinded in one eye.

The Rotterdam Eye Hospital serves the greater Rijnmond region, as well as people wounded in the western portion of Noord-Brabant and those in Zeeland. National figures for eye injuries will be released later this week.

The hospital said that legal fireworks caused 13 or 14 of the injuries, and illegal fireworks injured two or three people being treated at the specialist facility. The legality of the firework involved was not known in the rest of the cases.

At least 156 people in the Netherlands suffered eye injuries at the turn of the year 2023 to 2024. One in three patients suffered permanent damage, including 11 who were blinded in at least one eye.

"It's the same tragedy as last year," sighed ophthalmologist Tjeerd de Faber earlier on New Year's Day. He said he expects the number of fireworks victims to increase. "This can only stop if there is a national fireworks ban," said the ophthalmologist.

"We were able to prove it for two years during the coronavirus period." A national fireworks ban was in effect during the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of people with eye injuries from fireworks was significantly lower then.