A 65-year-old senior citizen was injured after her face was pierced by an iron bar on Tuesday, January 13, in Barangay San Agustin, Quezon City.

According to reports, the incident occurred at around 9:00 a.m. while the victim was reportedly gathering malunggay leaves in front of her neighbor’s house. 

Authorities said the woman suddenly felt dizzy and slipped near the edge of a plant box, causing her to fall onto an exposed iron bar.

The Quezon City Fire District (QCFD) Special Rescue Force responded after receiving a call from the Novaliches Fire Substation.

SF02 Richard Andrew Roces, team leader of the QCFD Special Rescue Force, said rescuers immediately stabilized the situation upon arrival.

“Naka receive tayo ng tawag from Novaliches fire substation na meron ngang matandang babae na natusok sa isang plant box so pagdating so pagdating natin dun inistabilize muna natin yung sitwasyon and then inistabilize yung injury nung pasyente muna so inaavoid natin na basta nalang tatanggalin sa pagkakatusok yung victim natin para maiwasan na lumala yung sitwasyon(We received a call from the Novaliches fire substation that an elderly woman had been stabbed in a plant box, so when we arrived, we first stabilized the situation and then stabilized the patient's injury, so we avoided simply removing the victim from the stab wound to prevent the situation from getting worse),” Roces said.

He added that the rescue team faced challenges due to the position of the victim and the iron bar.

“Ang naging challenge lang po samin syempre naka tusok siya dun sa bakal so hindi natin pwede basta basta galawin so nag dahan dahan lang po tayo dun hanggang sa matanggal natin siya dun sa pag kaka tusok. From sa ilalim ng baba niya pumasok yung bakal and then lumabas sa may mouth niya (The only challenge for us was that of course he had a needle in his nose so we couldn't just move him so we just did it slowly until we could remove him from the needle. The needle went in from under his chin and then came out of his mouth),” Roces said.

Despite the seriousness of the injury, Roces said the victim was fortunate as no vital parts were hit.

“Kahit papano pasalamat parin at walang tinamaan na vital yung charotie artery hindi masyadong nadale and yung sa airway (Anyway, thank goodness nothing vital was hit, the charotie artery wasn't too badly damaged and the airway wasn't too badly damaged),” he added.

The rescue operation lasted nearly 30 minutes before the woman was safely freed and brought to a hospital for medical treatment.

Authorities reminded the public, especially senior citizens, to take extra precautions during daily activities and to immediately seek help if they experience dizziness or weakness.