A woman could lose her eye after she was hit in the face by a firework while on a Melbourne beach celebrating the new year.
She was at Altona beach 13km south-west of Melbourne’s CBD when the illegal firework was lit just after midnight on Monday.
The 48-year-old suffered ‘very, very serious’ facial injuries, mainly to her eye, and was taken to hospital.
A 20-year-old man from Truganina, 22km west of Melbourne’s CBD, was arrested at the scene and was later released pending further inquiries.
Speaking on Monday morning, Victoria’s Police Assistant Commissioner Michael Grainger said there were ‘a number of fireworks incidents that resulted in some really serious injuries’.
‘There were a total of 57 illegal fireworks incidents across Victoria overnight and they all varied in severity, but three were particularly concerning.
‘We had a 48-year-old woman at Altona receiving very, very serious facial injuries.
‘An illicit firework exploded and she may lose an eye,’ he said.
In another serious firework incident, a 57-year-old woman was taken to hospital after a flare hit a window of her home in Tootgarook on the Mornington Peninsula, 62km south of Melbourne.
Police allege neighbours set off flares and the woman was injured when she tried to remove the flare to protect her house.
‘There was also a terribly serious fire at a house in Mill Park where at least 15 people have been injured and a number conveyed to hospital and treated for serious injuries,’ Assistant Commissioner Grainger said.
The cause of the Mill Park fire is not known, but is not thought to be suspicious.
Anyone with information on any of the incidents is urged to contact police.