15 killed, over 4,700 injured in fireworks blasts during Iran's year-end fire festival celebrations

Tehran: At least 15 people were killed and 4,720 others injured by fireworks explosions in Iranian cities during the Fire Festival celebrations, the semi-official Fars news agency reported Wednesday.

Among those injured in the celebrations between Feb 20 and March 12, 565 individuals remain hospitalised, with 38 in the intensive care units (ICUs) and four in critical condition, Spokesman of the Iranian National Medical Emergency Organisation Babak Yektaparast was quoted as saying.

According to the spokesman, 257 people underwent amputations, 1,594 suffered eye injuries, and 1,282 sustained burns. Yektaparast added that 72 per cent of those injured were under 22 years old.

Yektaparast said the death toll saw a 21 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, while the number of injured individuals showed a 13 per cent growth.

The traditional Fire Festival is typically celebrated by Iranians on the eve of the last Wednesday before Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, which falls on March 20 this year.