Nine-year-old dies after firecracker mishap in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A 9-year-old boy lost his life while trying to burst a cracker by placing a steel tumbler over it in outer Delhi’s Alipur on Tuesday. The tumbler burst and the shards pierced the child’s body. He had turned nine just last week.
Prince, a Class II student, lived with his family in Alipur. His father works at a private organisation and the family is from Darbhanga in Bihar.
Police said that the child was bursting crackers with his friends while his parents were away for work.“The tumbler shards injured him critically. Locals informed his parents and by the time he was taken to a hospital, he was declared brought dead,” said a police officer, adding that inquest proceedings have been initiated.
Indrajeet Kumar, maternal uncle of the boy, said Prince was the eldest son. “I was at my shop when the incident took place around 11am. The child went closer to the tumbler to take a look at a cracker that wasn’t bursting. However, the vessel exploded and portions of the steel got embedded in his chest, killing him,” Kumar said, adding that a police team met the family but no foul play is suspected.