More than 700 hurt by Lunar fireworks in Beijing

BEIJING: Accidents involving fireworks injured 714 people, six of them seriously, and sparked 254 fires in Beijing during the Lunar New Year holiday, state press reported Monday.

The city Fireworks Office blamed many of the casualties on improper use of the pyrotechnics, which were recently legalised in the city after a 12-year ban, the Beijing Times reported.

State media had earlier reported that one man died from a fireworks accident earlier in the holiday period, which began on February 17.

Chinese people believe that ushering in the Lunar New Year with two weeks of fireworks helps to scare away bad spirits from the previous year.

The practice turned the skyline of the Chinese capital into a dazzling and often deafening nightly pyrotechnic show since the Year of the Pig began.

The problems were magnified in Beijing this year as a flood of unsafe, illegal fireworks were reported to have hit the market.    The ban was lifted in 2006 after authorities said they were satisfied that safety standards had improved.

Sunday was the last day Beijingers were allowed to set off fireworks.