Two men sustained serious injuries today during Valencia’s Fallas celebrations, as fireworks incidents unfolded in separate locations along the old Turía riverbed and in the Benicalap district. The accidents happened at around 2:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., respectively, during the final day of the Fallas 2024 events.
The first incident occurred around two in the morning near the old riverbed gardens, close to the Alameda metro station. A 35-year-old man suffered the traumatic loss of his right hand, believed to be the result of a misjudgment while lighting a mortar device. Immediately after the blast, several bystanders contacted the 112 Emergency Service requesting urgent assistance, as the injured man was losing significant blood. According to responders, the patient faced extensive bleeding and severe trauma to the right hand from the explosion. Moreover, hospital officials noted multiple burns linked to the blast. [Citation: CICU and emergency services debrief]
Numerous burn injuries
The Valencia Emergency Coordination Center (CICU) dispatched an ambulance and a SAMU medical team to transfer the patient to La Fe Hospital after providing initial treatment on site. Medical sources describe the wound as a catastrophic injury to the right hand accompanied by extensive burns caused by the explosion. [Citation: CICU medical briefing]
Approximately eleven hours later, at about 1:00 p.m., another man of a roughly similar age sustained significant facial, hand, and leg burns when a box of fireworks exploded unexpectedly. This second serious incident occurred on Maestro Serrano Clavero Street in the Valencia neighborhood of Benicalap. The reasons behind the malfunction or misfire have not been disclosed publicly. [Citation: emergency services update]
No ambulance transport chosen
In this case, CICU alerted once again by the 112 control room and sent another SAMU crew to the scene. The medical team treated a 36-year-old man at the location for burns and abdominal pain. After initial care, the patient opted not to be transported by ambulance and decided to seek medical attention by his own means. [Citation: on-site medical note]
These, at first glance, appear to be the two most serious pirotecnia-related incidents during Fallas 2024. [Citation: regional safety report]