Nicosia youth who lost fingers speaks out

A teenager, who blew off three of his fingers after a firework tube exploded in his hand, took to social media to warn his peers against the use of illegal pyrotechnics.

According to local media, a 17-year-old boy identified himself on social media as the teenager who lost three fingers on Holy Saturday late at night after a firework exploded in his hand.

The teen reportedly had trespassed on a construction site in Nicosia’s Engomi area, when he attempted around 12:15 am to throw a firework shell.

But the tube exploded in his hand and he was rushed to the Emergency Room at Nicosia General Hospital, where doctors on duty determined he had severed his thumb and index finger as well as part of his middle finger. He was then taken to a private clinic in Limassol where he underwent surgery.

The later teen took to Facebook where he admitted his “stupid mistake” and called on his peers to stay away from fireworks.

“I’ve been reading things about me in the last few days and I know I acted like a reckless fool,” he wrote, adding that he did not think about consequences.

“Unfortunately sometimes you have to get hurt in order to learn a lesson,” the teen wrote, adding that he was going to get through his ordeal and thanked everybody who wished him well.

But he also warned his peers not to be impulsive and never grab a firework, saying they all had been warned and youths should think about their families first.

“Think about your mom or your dad who will pick up the phone and a police officer telling them your son blew off his fingers,” the teenager wrote.

“All of us, let’s stay away from fireworks, please. I was late to understand it, but now I have learned,” the teen added.

Problem out of hand, police use drones

Police used drones and intensified patrols on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday in an effort to track down illegal lambradjia bonfires and clamp down on illegal fireworks.

Unexpected loud explosions are often heard late at night for several days leading p to the holy week, with illegal fireworks associated with Greek Orthodox Easter traditions getting out of hand over the years.

Residents in local communities have complained about youngsters in neighbourhoods across the Republic breaking into abandoned homes, construction sites and even school yards to throw illegal fireworks, causing loud noise and disturbing the peace.