Unexploded cracker lands on boy's head, kills him instantly

A 12-year-old boy was killed after a heavy firecracker fell on his head during Sebastian festival at Cambridge Layout in Halasuru on Sunday night.

The victim, Dhanush, son of Suresh Kumar and a resident of Thyagaraja Nagar, was a Class 6 student at the Delhi Public School. He had gone there with his uncle  Anil Kumar and his sister to witness the festival.

The festival organisers burst 30 firecrackers at once. All crackers exploded, except the last one. However, it went up, while coming down it fell on Dhanush's head. As a result, the victim's head was split into two pieces killing him on the spot, said Halasuru police.

Kumar said they were at least 100 metres away from the place where firecrackers were burst. Nearly 2,000 people had gathered to see the event. Everyone was looking at the sky when suddenly Dhanush collapsed on the ground.

"When we looked at him, he was bleeding profusely, while the firecracker was near him," his uncle said.

Kumar took Dhanush to Bowring hospital, but doctors declared him dead on arrival.
The victim's uncle said the unexploded firecracker that fell on Dhanush was weighing around 2 kg.

Kumar said he had been attending the event for the last seven years. The organisers did not take any precautionary measures. There was no ambulance or Fire and Emergency services vehicle on the spot. There was not a single policeman deployed  at the venue. Dhanush died because of sheer negligence of the organisers.

There was no safety to people who participated in the festival, including people who lit firecrackers, he said.

According to him, a few residents of the Cambridge Layout also sustained minor injuries.
"Residents of the layout have been demanding a ban on the firecracker event, but organisers have ignored our pleas," Chethan K, an eyewitness said.

FIR against organiser

The Halasur police have registered an FIR against the organisers.

As parents did not know who had organised the event, the police did not specify names in the FIR, but just stated as organisers.