02:07Colombia: Six reported injured as annual gunpowder celebration welcomes festive season in Medellin
Medellin’s traditional gunpowder celebration got the festive season off to an explosive - and highly dangerous - start, as footage filmed on Wednesday shows.
The skyline over the city is seen lit up with fireworks, with locals sending multiple rockets and firecrackers up into the night.
"This is a moment where everyone is happy, everything goes crazy because it is the arrival of Christmas, it is only one month in the year, so you have to make the most of it from the first day to the last day of December," said one resident.
Local authorities claimed that up to six people had been injured, with one man losing a finger and a woman, an eye. Media outlets reported that hundreds of wild animals are also killed by the noise and stress of the night.
According to local media, the celebration dates back to 2003, marking the demobilisation of the Cacique Nutivara Bloc paramilitary group.
02:07Medellin’s traditional gunpowder celebration got the festive season off to an explosive - and highly dangerous - start, as footage filmed on Wednesday shows.
The skyline over the city is seen lit up with fireworks, with locals sending multiple rockets and firecrackers up into the night.
"This is a moment where everyone is happy, everything goes crazy because it is the arrival of Christmas, it is only one month in the year, so you have to make the most of it from the first day to the last day of December," said one resident.
Local authorities claimed that up to six people had been injured, with one man losing a finger and a woman, an eye. Media outlets reported that hundreds of wild animals are also killed by the noise and stress of the night.
According to local media, the celebration dates back to 2003, marking the demobilisation of the Cacique Nutivara Bloc paramilitary group.