Birthday disaster: Woman suffers second-degree burns as balloons explode in her face upon touching cake's candle
A Vietnamese woman's birthday celebration turned disastrous as the hydrogen-filled balloons she was holding exploded upon touching the candle of her birthday cake, burning her face.
In a now-viral Facebook post on Feb. 20, Giang Pham shared an 8-second video of the incident, which also took place on Valentine's Day.
She was in front of guests singing her a happy birthday. Behind her was a birthday banner on the wall and a row of balloons near the ceiling.
But as Pham was preparing to blow her cake, which she was carrying with her left hand, the balloons she was holding with her right hand suddenly hit the flame.
There was a loud bang followed by the popping of some of the ceiling balloons. A huge flame can be seen covering Pham's upper body for a second.
Guests can be heard screaming, while Pham can be seen immediately throwing her cake and releasing the balloons. She walked to her right while covering her face.
The post included photos of Pham's face covered in bandages while crying, her on the operating table getting treatment, a close-up of her burns, and her selfie before the tragedy.
“The incident happened 6 days ago, but only today did I calm down enough to review the process of the balloon exploding and causing my burns," she wrote in her post's caption in Vietnamese. "Over the past few days, my friends have asked me about my condition and I have sent them the video, but I have not had the courage to watch it. The incident scared me so much. When I found out that I had burns on my face, I was very confused."
Pham noted that she cried all day because she didn't know what would happen to her life and work after the incident.
"Fortunately, I suffered first- and second-degree burns and was treated as an outpatient," she said. "Doctors said that my scars would not leave scars after they healed completely. However, it will take months for my skin to recover its color.”
In an interview with local outlet Hai Duong, Pham said she hadn't heard much about balloons exploding like that and wasn't unaware that those were flammable.
"Luckily, these balloons contained normal air, otherwise it could have led to a serious fire," she said. "If I had known, I would never have put myself in such a dangerous situation."
Pham said she's posting her accident to serve as a reminder to the public.
"I hope that through my accident," she added, "people will understand and be more careful when using balloons, not letting themselves fall into dangerous situations or have unnecessary accidents."
