More than 500 injured in explosion at Taiwan water park

More than 500 people were injured, over 180 of them seriously, in an explosion at a water park outside Taiwan’s capital Taipei after coloured powder being sprayed onto a crowd ignited, officials said. Footage on the Apple Daily newspaper website showed crowds dancing as music played and clouds of powder being sprayed out which suddenly turned into a ball of fire that tore through the spectators.

Our initial understanding is this explosion and fire… was caused by the powder spray. It could have been due to the heat of the lights on the stage.

Spokesman for the New Taipei City fire department

Terrified partygoers were then shown running for their lives, screaming, as they were overtaken by flames. As ambulance crews struggled to reach the site, victims were carried away on rubber rings and inflatable dinghies as friends desperately tried to get them out. Bystanders poured bottles of water on the scorched skin of the victims still at the scene. The cause of the fire is being investigated.

World taiwan