26 persons, 14 animals and birds bear brunt

Twenty-six persons who suffered burn injuries while celebrating Diwali approached for treatment privately-run National Burns Centre, Airoli, Navi Mumbai, till Tuesday morning. Nearly half of the patients were women who suffered burns when their traditional attire came into contact with earthen lamps or diyas arranged on the floor.

Dr Sunil Keswani, cosmetic surgeon and head of National Burns Centre, said, “We have 26 cases of burn injuries; this time the trend is lots of burn injuries occurring because of diyas since women’s lehengas and pallus have caught fire while lighting the earthen lamps.”

“We have two women patients from out of the city; one is from Ahmedabad and the other from Indore – both of them hired an air ambulance and came to us for treatment. Both have sustained injuries from diyas. Also, we have children who’ve sustained burn injuries owing to crackers,” he added.