Wednesday Fire Festivities Leave 9 Dead and Nearly 1,900 Injured
Iran’s emergency services spokesman announced on Wednesday, March 19th, that the previous night’s Wednesday fire festivities resulted in 9 deaths and nearly 1,900 injured and wounded.
He previously stated that since the beginning of this March, at least “eight people” have died in connection with “Wednesday fire festivities” and “70 people” have lost limbs.
The Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday, citing Mojtaba Khaldi: “At this year’s end Wednesday festivities, 1,894 people were injured, 131 people lost limbs, and unfortunately 9 people died.”
He added: “527 people suffered eye injuries, compared to 512 last year, and this year 131 people lost limbs, while that number was 193 last year.”
According to this emergency official, “70 percent of the injured were users of flammable materials and 30 percent were pedestrians and emergency responders.”
Khaldi identified the highest number of casualties in Tehran, East Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, and Central provinces.
Mojtaba Khaldi said: “Tehran province with 553 people, Tabriz with 185 people, and Kermanshah with 140 people had the highest number of casualties related to year-end Wednesday festivities.”
Each year, as the last Wednesday of the year approaches, numerous cases of flammable material explosions are reported across the country. Last year’s Wednesday fire festivities in Iran resulted in 2 deaths and 751 wounded.
Last year, the most casualties came from Tehran, East Azerbaijan, and West Azerbaijan provinces, but Iran’s Ministry of Health had announced that the number of injured from Wednesday fire festivities showed a decline compared to previous years.
Last year, the death toll was also 2 people, but in 2018 this figure was six people, equal to the number of deaths this year through Tuesday evening.
Wednesday fire festivities are held each year on the last Tuesday night of the year. According to Kourosh Niknam, a Zoroastrian priest, five days before Nowruz, the people of the Iranian plateau would light fires so that the spirits of the deceased would come to them, and on the first day of Nowruz this fire would be taken to rooftops or heights to escort the spirits.
Lighting fires, light displays, or firecracker celebrations at various festivals are also common in some other ancient cultures on the Asian continent. The people of China celebrate the New Year—which marks the beginning of spring in the Chinese lunar calendar—with fireworks and firecrackers to frighten away a mythical “monster” and have a good year.
Diwali or Deepavali, one of the most important and prominent Hindu festivals, is also marked by house cleaning and light displays. The word “dipa” in Sanskrit means lantern or lamp, and this festival symbolizes the victory of goodness and knowledge (light) over evil and ignorance (darkness).
Source: Radio Farda
