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Woman Mistakes Dynamite Stick For Candle In Power Outage, Suffers 'Extreme' Injuries

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (CBS) – A Connecticut woman mistakenly lit a stick of dynamite instead of a candle during a power outage and suffered severe injuries Thursday night, police said.

Authorities said the "tragic accident" happened to the 30-year-old mother of two on Lindley Street after thunderstorms passed through the Bridgeport area. The family tried to go to Home Depot to buy emergency lighting, but the store was closed.

When they got back home, they went to get what they believed were candles left behind in the basement by previous residents.

"She attempted to light one of what she thought was the candle and turned out to be a quarter stick of dynamite," police said.

bridgeport connecticut dynamite
Police and firefighters outside the home in Bridgeport , CT. (Image credit: News 12 Connecticut via CNN)

The woman was taken to the hospital with "extreme injuries" to her hands, and she might lose fingers. She also suffered serious facial injuries, police said. The explosion did not injure anyone else.

Police and the fire department later searched the home and removed another dynamite device. It's against the law to have dynamite or fireworks in Connecticut, but police aren't pressing charges.

Authorities are reminding people to make sure they have backup lighting in their home in the event of an outage, and to report any suspicious items that could cause a fire to police.

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