QUICK TAKE | Diwali Firecracker Injuries Top 1,100 in Tamil Nadu, Blasts Kill Two Boys in Delhi and Odisha. Seven Things to Know

1. How many people were injured in Tamil Nadu?

Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services said 1,116 people received treatment for firecracker injuries, including 309 children. Of those treated, 985 went home and 131 were still in hospital at the time of the tally. The fire service also received 104 calls about fires it attributed to crackers.

2. What does Tamil Nadu’s figure of 462 count?

That came from a separate 48-hour emergency-response tally, from 7 am on November 7 to 7 am on November 9. It recorded 462 burn-related emergencies, 430 burn admissions and two burn deaths, including a child under 15. The published figures do not show how many cases overlap with the fire service tally.

3. What happened in Delhi and Odisha?

A 10-year-old boy died after a firecracker accident in Delhi’s Narela. Police are investigating what exploded and how. In Odisha, a 14-year-old died in a cracker explosion in Rourkela. Local reporting put Odisha’s injury count above 100, with more than 40 patients admitted at SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack.

4. Where did hospitals report eye injuries?

Hyderabad hospitals saw at least 67 people with firecracker-related eye injuries by Monday morning. One patient lost sight in his right eye. Bengaluru hospitals reported at least 32 eye injuries, including 13 children. In Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur, the district hospital treated at least 35 people for cracker and gunpowder burns.

5. What happened at the Rajasthan cracker shop?

A fire at a cracker shop in Falna, in Pali district, killed municipal councillor Usha Punamia and her husband. Three shops burned. Early reports suggested that sparks from fireworks set off on the road may have reached the shop.

6. How busy were fire crews elsewhere?

Pune’s fire brigade received 94 fire calls from Diwali afternoon to Monday morning, with no injuries reported. Firecrackers were suspected in some blazes. Ahmedabad logged 26 calls by 10 pm on Diwali night, with reports pointing to both cracker sparks and electrical short circuits.

7. Were the deadly Madhya Pradesh fires linked to crackers?

Separate fires in Katni and Seoni killed six members of each family. In Katni, police cited a diya or an electrical short circuit as possible causes. Neither fire had a confirmed cracker link in the reports available on November 9. A nationwide tally of cracker injuries and deaths was also unavailable.