The video also showed a mother clutching a baby as she ran for safety, while another panicked partygoer was seen fleeing outside towards the road and frantically fanning flames from her headscarf.
“It happened so fast. I’m not sure how I managed to escape,” Usmanova told local media, according to the Daily Mail.
“It’s a relief that nobody was hurt and there was no damage.”
Footage obtained by TMZ showed fragments of burst balloons scattered across the foyer floor as shaken guests checked on each other and embraced.
Nozza Usmanova managed to keep a steady hand on her birthday cake despite balloons exploding in her face.
Hydrogen is a highly flammable gas sometimes used in party balloons because it makes them float, but it poses a potential fire risk due to its low ignition energy when exposed to sparks or flames.
Last year, a Vietnamese woman suffered first- and second-degree burns to her face after hydrogen balloons exploded at her birthday party when they came into contact with lit candles.
Giang Pham was hospitalised with injuries that left her eyelids burned.
“I hope that through my accident, people will understand and be more careful when using balloons, not letting themselves fall into dangerous situations or have unnecessary accidents,” she said.
In a separate incident, a 7-year-old boy suffered burns to his arm after a hydrogen-filled balloon he was playing with exploded.
His mother, Tina, said the blast “shook the house” and she warned other parents against using the “ticking time bombs” at their children’s birthday parties.
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