Man’s severed arm one of six major injuries on Territory Day

A man whose arm was severed during a firework mishap on Territory Day was one of six cases treated and transported by the NT’s paramedics.

A man is in hospital after his arm was severed by a misfiring firework on Territory Day. Picture: (A)manda Parkinson

A man whose arm was severed during a firework mishap was one of six injuries paramedics treated and transported to hospital on Territory Day.

In a Monday radio interview, St John NT director of ambulance services Andrew Thomas said a 23-year-old man was taken to Royal Darwin Hospital – along with his amputated limb – on Saturday night.

“Hopefully the team at the hospital, they will be able to try and see what they can do to reattach that for them,” Mr Thomas said.

“For any form of amputation, first aid is basically putting it into a bag and not putting it on ice, but just putting it in cold water.”

Mr Thomas said he was not aware if the man’s arm was successfully reattached.

“We haven’t had a chance to really chase up to get the further details, but we obviously wish the patient all the best and hope that the surgeons are able to do what they can to put that back on,” he said.

NT Police Northern Watch Commander Sean Patterson said the man was among a “couple of blokes” who were using a hollow steel pipe as a launching pad for fireworks on a Virginia property.

But disaster struck at 8.50pm on Saturday.

Sergeant Patterson said a misfire broke the steel pipe and caused shrapnel to go flying.

He said the young man’s left arm was severed below the elbow and another man was struck in the groin, which caused some bleeding.

“The 23-year-old was in surgery having his arm reattached,” Sergeant Patterson said.

“The second fellow was a 58-year-old man, he’s also undergone surgery to have the piece of metal removed.”

Firefighters responded to close to 100 incidents on Territory Night 2023. Picture: Supplied

An NT Health spokeswoman said on Sunday that the 23-year-old was in a serious condition and the 58-year-old man was in a serious but stable condition.

A St John NT spokeswoman said the severed limb was transported to Royal Darwin Hospital alongside the patient.

Sergeant Patterson said a crime scene had been established at the site of the explosion and investigations were continuing.

It comes after a huge cracker night for emergency services in which close to 100 incidents were attended across the Territory.

Chief fire officer Mark Spain said a number of bushfires were reported throughout the day while firefighters responded to incidents in Darwin CBD and the northern suburbs throughout the night.

“It was pleasing to see people attend the family-friendly events; however, there were several incidents in the CBD where people were firing firecrackers at crews, off their balconies and even off the roof of unit complexes,” Mr Spain said.

“Crews attended a structure fire at a unit complex on Smith Street last year and unfortunately attended the same complex again this year to warn residences who were firing crackers off the roof into the busy street.”

Originally published as Man’s severed arm one of six major injuries on Territory Day