At the opening of the Pokhara Visit Year announcement program, a balloon filled with hydrogen gas exploded when it met the spark of a flickering candle, burning the faces and hands of Minister Paudel and Mayor Acharya.
We use Google Cloud Translation Services. Google requires we provide the following disclaimer relating to use of this service:
This service may contain translations powered by Google. Google disclaims all warranties related to the translations, expressed or implied, including any warranties of accuracy, reliability, and any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and noninfringement.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and Pokhara Metropolitan City Chief Dhanraj Acharya were injured when a balloon burst during the inauguration of the 'Pokhara Visit Year' program on Saturday. During the inauguration of the program, they were injured when the balloon fell due to the flickering candle lit by Minister Paudel through digital media.
The digital switch was turned on and flickering candles were lit at the official announcement of Pokhara visit year 2025. After that, balloons with banners written on the year of the visit were tried to fly.
At that time, the balloon hut held by Minister Paudel and Mayor Acharya was met by a fire. Those balloons were filled with hydrogen gas. The balloon was filled with hydrogen instead of helium gas. We did not care about this matter. It came to know only after the accident," said Motilal Timsina, spokesperson of the metropolis.
Finance Minister Paudel and Mayor Acharya, who were injured in the fire when the balloon burst, were brought to Kirtipur Hospital in Kathmandu by helicopter after initial treatment at Gandaki Hospital. According to the Kirtipur Hospital, according to preliminary tests, 5 to 6 percent of their bodies were burnt.
Kirtipur Hospital's head of plastic surgery department and member of the treatment team Dr. According to Vishal Karki, Mayor Acharya has severe burns on many parts of his cheeks and left hand, while Minister Paudel has minor burns on both his hands, and some burns on his face as well.
dr. Karki said that even though the wound looks normal now, there is a risk that it could get deeper. "We will know only after 3-4 days whether the wound is deep or not," he said. Now the situation is normal.' He said that if the wound grows, an operation will be necessary, otherwise it will heal slowly with medicine.
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel and Dhanraj Acharya, head of Pokhara Metropolitan Municipality, are being treated at Kirtipur Hospital. Photo: Kantipur
dr. According to Karki, due to the smoke released when the balloon explodes, the first 48 hours should be kept under high surveillance and treated. "Due to irritation on the face, the airways and lungs may be affected," he said, "that's why we have kept them in the ICU." Senior Vice President of UML Ishwar Pokharel, who went to Kirtipur Hospital to meet the injured, said that safety standards should be strictly followed while organizing such events. "The organizer should pay attention to what should be done and what should not be done," he said.
Home Minister Ramesh Akhtar said that people should be careful about flying balloons in the event. "Accidents happen accidentally, arrangements should be made to prevent such incidents from happening again. Care should be taken in such programs,' he said, 'we will try to make arrangements so that such incidents do not repeat anywhere.'
