Soldier’s rocket blast agony
A BOMB disposal expert who survived eight years dismantling explosives was blinded by a firework which exploded in his face.
It went off without shooting into the sky and phosphorous hit the soldier, known only as Aksel, robbing him of his sight in his left eye.
The squaddie spoke out to warn of the dangers of fireworks ahead of tonight’s Bonfire Night festivities.
He said: “I fired the first six rockets with no issues but the seventh failed to take off and it stuttered as if it had gone out.
“I turned to look at it and it exploded. The phosphorus hit my left eye and severed the muscle.
“When it hit my eye it felt like being hit in the head by a block of wood.
Panic
“The pain went on for a few minutes and I rushed into the house.
“Initially I didn’t make a huge deal about it because it was dark and I didn’t want anyone to panic so I walked back into the house, which was when I realised how bad it was.’’
Aksel, from Bruton, Somerset, still needs medical treatment a year on as surgeons continue to try to reattach his eye to the surrounding muscle.
“I knew I’d gone blind but I still needed surgery,’’ he said.
“It took about three hours to remove as much of the phosphorous out of my eye with the hope of saving my sight.
“In between then and now I have had about 12 surgeries on my eye where they have tried to save my sight.
“But up until now I can only see a shadow of my finger if I hold it close to my left eye.” And he added: “My biggest concern is that people as young as 18 can purchase fireworks which essentially are over-the-counter explosives.
“I spent years in the army disposing bombs so if it can happen to me it can happen to anyone. I would love to see fireworks banned entirely.
“But at the very least we should use heat masks, gloves and other protective gear.’’
Aksel, who worked in bomb disposal for the Irish Army from 1981 to 1989, said his firework injury was the worst trauma he has ever suffered.
He said: “What happened to me has been a difficult thing to deal with.”