Diwali: Major hospitals in Delhi report cases of burns; not many complaints of respiratory issues

Sixty cases of burns linked to Diwali festivities were reported at AIIMS Delhi over Sunday and Monday, including 33 cases on Diwali night (Monday). Eleven cases of major burns were reported during this period.

On Tuesday, a senior doctor at the hospital said: “We’ve seen 110 patients so far today, and we will be operating on 20 patients.”

Fifteen people, including several children, were admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital with burn injuries during Diwali celebrations on Monday and early Tuesday, according to hospital records. All patients were referred to the Burns and Plastic Department after examination.

Outside the hospital’s burns ward, families recounted how festival celebrations had gone wrong for them, with severe consequences in some cases. A man who gave his name as Munazil said a cracker that had seemed to be unlit had gone off in the hand of his 9-year-old nephew Sahil.

“He (Sahil) thought all of them had burst. But the fuse of one of the crackers was still burning, and it exploded in his hand,” Munazil said.

Naresh Kumar, who said he lives in Ghaziabad, said his son suffered burns while lighting a skyshot. “My elder son took the skyshot from his younger brother. It burst in his hand before he could throw it,” Kumar said. “These days, the quality of firecrackers is poor and unpredictable,” he said.

None of these cases was serious, however, a doctor at Lok Nayak Hospital said. “We did not see any major burn cases; most of those who came in had minor to moderate burns,” the doctor said.

At Safdarjung Hospital, a total 129 cases of firecracker burns were reported on Sunday and Monday. Of the 113 cases of burns that were reported on Diwali, 103 were due to crackers, hospital authorities said. Ninety eight cases were treated in the Outpatients Department, while 15 people were admitted.