12-year-old boy dies in Bengaluru after firecracker falls on his head

Dhanush, the victim, was a Class 4 student, and was attending the festivities in the church along with his family.

A 12-year-old boy died after a firecracker fell on his head in Halasuru, in Bengaluru, on Sunday. The incident took place during the St Sebastian festival at the St Lourdes Church in Cambridge Layout.

At around 10 pm, the organisers of the festival began bursting crackers. However, one of them did not explode, but, instead, it went up and then fell on Dhanush S’s head.

A Class 4 student, Dhanush was a resident of Thyagarajanagar, and was attending the church festivities along with members of his family.

The firecracker, which fell on Dhanush's head, weighed 2 kg. Dhanush, grievously injured, collapsed on the spot immediately.

"When we looked at him, he was bleeding profusely, while the firecracker was near him," his uncle Anil Kumar said.

He was rushed to a hospital, but was declared dead on arrival by doctors at the Bowring Hospital.

Anil, who has been attending the event for the past seven years, said that there was no ambulance or Fire and Emergency Services at the spot when the incident took place.

The police have registered a case against the church management under Section 304 A of the IPC (death by negligence).

But, church authorities denied their responsibility in the tragic incident stating the event was organised by another party, and not directly by them.

According to the police, nearly 3,000 people attended the event and that the organisers had failed to take safety measures before they began bursting the crackers.

"The organisers were bursting firecrackers 100 metres away from where we were standing. Everyone was looking at the sky and suddenly Dhanush collapsed on the ground. When we saw him, blood was flowing from his head and the rocket was next to him. The firecracker weighed around 2 kg. It fell on Dhanush. But it did not explode, so other people were saved," a family member told The Hindu.

Dhanush was a student of Delhi Public School. He reportedly loved crackers and was attending the church festivities to watch the fireworks.

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