One Dead And 380 Injured After Philippines Firework Displays

At least one man died and 380 others were injured following New Year’s Eve fireworks displays in the Philippines.
In one incident in Manila, a man lit a firecracker and held it as it exploded, killing him, the health secretary Janet Garin said.
A firework also set an abandoned hut ablaze, sparking a fire that razed about 1,000 shanties in Manila’s Tondo slum district, displacing several thousand families.

Garin has called for “a total ban on all firecrackers”. Many superstitious Filipinos usher in the new year with powerful firecrackers, believing that noisy celebrations, largely influenced by Chinese tradition, drive away bad luck and evil.
Garin said the number of injured, while still alarming, was less than half of last year’s toll because of rain late on Thursday and a safety campaign showing pictures of past victims. The government has also promoted sponsored fireworks shows to discourage people from organising their own displays.
Iglesia ni Cristo, a large religious group, said it set off more than 700,000 to try to break a Guinness record for the largest fireworks display. Tens of thousands watched the spectacle in Bocaue town in Bulacan province, north of Manila.