Hydrogen Balloon Explodes on Birthday Girl After Cake Candle Ignites

A woman’s birthday celebration in Hanoi, Vietnam, took a terrifying turn when a hydrogen-filled balloon suddenly ignited and exploded in her face.

Pham Thi Giang, 33, was posing for a final round of photos at the end of her birthday party, holding her cake in one hand and a cluster of balloons in the other, when disaster struck.

As she swung the balloons around, the largest one drifted too close to the candle on her cake, sparking an explosion that sent flames shooting into the air.

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The sudden blast reportedly left Pham’s face burned, and footage of the incident captured her screaming in shock as she dropped the cake to the floor.

Smoke could be seen rising from her singed hair as she instinctively reached for her face, visibly in distress.

Pham later revealed that she sustained first and second-degree burns covering approximately 10% of her body.

Speaking to vknews24, she expressed frustration that the shopkeeper who sold her the balloons did not warn her of the serious fire risk.

She waited six days before sharing the video on social media, explaining that she was still too shaken to watch it herself but felt compelled to warn others.

Reflecting on the accident, she said, “I cried all day because I didn’t know what my life and work would be like after being burned on my face like that.

It’s something no one wants, but it happened anyway. I hope people will see this and share it with their loved ones to prevent similar accidents.”

She described the explosion as deafening, noting that the fireball was so intense that it scorched a nearby display of regular balloons.

She shuddered to think of what could have happened had more of them been filled with hydrogen, warning, “If they were all hydrogen-filled, it could have burned down the whole restaurant.”

Pham explained that the accident happened on February 14 while she was posing for a keepsake photo after blowing out her candles.

Unaware of the danger, she casually swung the balloons back and forth—until one touched the candle’s flame and set off the explosion.

After the incident, she was rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with first and second-degree burns.

While she was relieved that her eyes were unharmed, she was told it would take 10 to 14 days for her superficial wounds to heal, with full recovery expected to take four to six months.

In light of her experience, she urged others to be cautious when using balloons for celebrations.

“If people use balloons for decorations, they should only use regular ones that aren’t dangerous.

If they choose hydrogen balloons, they need to keep them away from flames and other fire hazards to avoid accidents like mine.”

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SOURCE: Hydrogen balloon EXPLODES in face of birthday girl after igniting on cake candle | Need To Know