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HUNTINGTON COUNTY, Indiana — A 41-year-old man died early Sunday after being injured by fireworks in Huntington County, officials said.

Emergency personnel responded on Sunday to reports that someone had been struck near the abdomen by a firework, The Journal Gazette reported. .

Steven E Sims was pronounced dead at the scene after he was struck by a mortar shell that had exploded inside the firework’s tubing, an initial investigation found.

The official cause of death will be determined during an autopsy and toxicology results are pending as the the county coroner’s office and sheriff’s office are investigating the incident.

Fireworks-related death and injuries are on a rise, according to a report released in June by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). According to the CPSC, 15,600 people were treated in hospital emergency departments for fireworks-related injuries in 2020 compared to about 10,000 in 2019.

The CPSC recommends that children never play or ignite fireworks and adults should never ignite fireworks while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

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