The fire was sparked on Saturday by an accidental explosion of a coloured theatrical powder thrown from the stage in front of about 1,000 people
Taipei : More than 400 people, many of them seriously burned and hospitalised on Sunday after a fire spread into a crowd of spectators at a music party at a Taiwan water park, injuring a total of 519 people, authorities said.
The fire was sparked on Saturday by an accidental explosion of a coloured theatrical powder thrown from the stage in front of about 1,000 people, the local fire agency and media said.
The powder for the one-time event called ‘Colour Play Asia’ ignited along the ground, mainly burning people’s lower bodies, said Wang
Wei-sheng, a liaison with the New Taipei City fire department command centre.
The exact cause of the fire was still being investigated, but Taiwan Premier Mao Chih-kuo banned public activities that use the coloured powder. A total of 519 people were injured by the fire at the Formosa Water Park in New Taipei City, according to a statement from the city government’s health bureau.
It said that 419 remained hospitalised on Sunday, about half of whom were seriously injured, including 184 in intensive care. Apart from Taiwanese, the victims were four people from Hong Kong, two from the Chinese mainland and one each from Macau, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.
The nationalities of three other foreigners were not given. President Ma Ying-jeou visited burns victims at a hospital in Taipei today afternoon and said authorities would do their best to ensure victims receive
‘the best medical care’ and find out who was responsible for the ‘tragic incident’.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency said that police were questioning two park workers who had launched the powder as well as the party’s on-site organiser and two technicians. They may face charges of professional negligence causing serious injuries and endangering the public, it said.
Meanwhile, organisers of the party at the water park in Taiwan have been detained after a cloud of coloured powder exploded in the air during a live event.
No deaths have been reported with reports suggesting that most of the people suffering burns were in their 20s.
The video taken at the scene showed the flames erupting among the crowd at the event called ‘Color Play Asia’.
‘Color Play Asia’ bills itself as Asia’s biggest colour party, an event where the people dance to music while spraying each other with coloured powder. The water park, Formosa Fun Coast, is north of Taipei, the island’s capital city.
