THE two police handlers of Cairo's old Ramadan cannon were seriously hurt as they struggled to sound the traditional boom for the end of the daily dawn-to-dusk fast of the Muslim holy month, police said overnight.
| Explosions and flying body parts are a Ramadan tradition |
Ali al-Sayed, 50, lost an arm and colleague Al-Sayed Mohammed Hussein, 31, lost an eye as well as suffering serious burns when the cannon ball exploded at sunset, they said. | At least it went off on time |
The ball blew up as the two men tried to dislodge it after the cannon failed to fire. | "Ali, take another wack at it, I think it moved that .......KABOOM! ......time..." |
The 100-year-old cannon is kept at the Citadel of Cairo where it comes into use for only 30 days a year during the holy month of Ramadan to signal the end of the day-long fast. |