According to Fresh News the accident occurred at 8:30 pm on 2 December 2016 at the Point Beach Beach Unit 911.
Three people were injured. A 35yo man suffered from a ruptured eardrum, another man aged 33 was lightly wounded and a little boy from Phomn Penh aged 3 was badly injured on the back of his shoulder. It looks like he was directly hit by the firework. All three were taken to hospital.


After the accident occurred on Friday night, the Sihanoukville police have started posting on FB that they are clamping down on fireworks on Ochheuteal Beach.

4 December 2016.

Police chief says it's the family's fault for setting off the fireworks. But who is responsible for enforcing the law against selling fireworks to tourists on the beach who don't have a clue about fireworks safety ? (And are drinking.)
The police are clamping down on the fireworks sellers now, but for how long ?

Toddler Seriously Hurt as Banned Firework Set Off
A two-year-old boy was seriously injured in Preah Sihanouk province when a member of his family set off a banned firework.
The incident happened on Ochheuteal Beach in Lek Boun commune on Friday.

Deputy provincial police chief Kol Phally said the boy was seriously injured on his right shoulder and was sent to hospital in Phnom Penh that night.

“It was a family member’s mistake in firing the firework and accidently hitting the boy,” he said.

He said the provincial authority had banned fireworks, but tourists had flouted the ban and set the firework off when police were not nearby.

Mr. Phally said only the toddler was hurt, but Sihanoukville police chief Pol Phos said two men from the same group were also slightly injured.

Mr. Phos said that all three were from a group of about 60 people who had come from the capital and were eating and drinking on the beach at the time. Local media identified the other two men as brothers Hun Chrin and Hun Horn.
Mr. Phos said no one had been arrested.

http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/32741/ ... k-set-off/

In another fireworks tragedy, a Battambang man lost his arm while setting off a firework for the Chinese New Year.

Man loses arm in fireworks explosion
One man’s Chinese New Year was off to a rough start on Friday in Battambang province when one of his fireworks exploded, causing him to lose his left arm.
Captain Samrith Viseth, the deputy chief of Phnom Proek district police, said Ly Tith, a farmer living in Phnom Touch village, bought a number of fireworks from a local shop to celebrate the holiday in front of his home at about 5:30pm.

“While lighting a firework, he took his left arm, held and pressed down on the firework. The firework then exploded and he lost his left arm. He was seriously injured,” he said.
“After the explosion and his serious injury, he was immediately taken by his family to a district health center for treatment.”

Mr. Tith has been staying in the Phnom Proek District Health Center ever since.

Lieutenant Colonel Song Sopheak, chief of the district police force, said authorities have banned all owners of convenience stores from selling fireworks, but shop vendors routinely ignore the rule.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/34863/ ... explosion/

Good news. In a coherent move following some injuries caused by fireworks on the beach 6 months ago, Sihanoukville police are today once again clamping down on the sale and letting off of beach fireworks on Occheuteal Beach, Sihanoukville, in order to protect the public.

Fireworks confiscated on Sihanoukville beaches
21 June 2017
Preah Sihanouk provincial authorities have confiscated almost 60 small and big firecrackers and mini fireworks being sold along the beaches in a move to prevent the selling and letting off of fireworks and flying lanterns which could cause accidents with tourists.

Preah Sihanouk provincial traffic police chief Por Bunnara said yesterday that on a regular inspection to prohibit the selling of fireworks and flying lanterns at the province’s coastal areas on Monday night, authorities seized 57 small and big fireworks and firecrackers.
Authorities also took many fireworks sellers to educate them and get them to sign a contract to stop selling their explosive goods.

“We have confiscated and educated them not to sell fireworks, because sometimes there were some people [tourists] who went to eat at the stores and they bought fireworks to play with,” said Mr Por.
“There were also some cases of fireworks causing injuries among tourists. So we do not allow them to play with or burn the fireworks or firecrackers anymore.”

Deputy chief of the provincial tourist and waterway traffic police Nop Panha also said the authorities had banned the selling and burning of fireworks and flying lanterns at the beaches which were tourist sites since last year and tourism police have regularly inspected and strengthened their work to prevent any accidents.

However, he said fireworks were still being found on the beaches because some people bought them from vendors who walk along the beach.
“We have gone and inspected regularly to ban them and have also brought them in many times, but there are still vendors,” Mr Nop said. “We are continuing to strengthen this work.”

The move came after three local tourists suffered minor injuries caused by fireworks at Ochheteal Beach last year.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/39514/ ... e-beaches/

Could it be that the authorities are serious about the ban this time ? According to Sihanoukville locals,the "ban" last year lasted about 48 hours before the fireworks started up again.

Ban on fireworks
June 26, 2017
SIHANOUKVILLE, 26 June 2017: Sihanoukville provincial authorities say they will strengthen measures to prevent the sale of fireworks and sky lanterns claiming the crackdown would improve tourist safety.

Hundreds of tourists visiting beaches ignite fireworks and launch paper lanterns that rise on the heat created by a paraffin burner fixed to the interior of the lantern.

Khmer Times quoted the provincial tourist and waterway traffic police deputy chief, Nop Panha, saying the authorities have now banned the selling of fireworks and sky lanterns at the beaches for safety reasons.

The practice has been discouraged for a year or more, but local vendors continued to sell fireworks and lanterns to tourists on the beaches.

Last week, police confiscated 57 small and big fireworks and firecrackers...
http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2017/06/ban-on-fireworks/

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