Hundreds of people were injured last night when an inferno erupted during a party at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里).
An explosion occurred about 8:30pm after colored powder that was sprayed over "Color Play Asia" partygoers in front of a stage apparently exploded in the air, triggering a fire that was quickly brought under control.
Initial reports of about 200 people being injured rose to more than 500 by early this morning, with at least 200 reported in serious condition. The numbers rose as authorities tracked victims who had taken themselves to nearby hospitals or been transported by friends or other people.
Photo: EPA
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu (朱立倫) arrived at the scene at 10:20pm last night. Due to the large number of injured, Chu asked for ambulance support from Taipei, Taoyuan and Keelung.
The New Taipei City government also used social messaging app Line to notify people about the incident and to urge them to avoid the park area.
Military personnel were deployed to help with rescue efforts at the park, where partygoers were using large inflatable swimming tubes and floats as stretchers to carry the injured from the park or tend to them until rescuers arrived.
Photo: AFP / Apple Daily / Miss Huang
Several victims, some of whom suffered burns over 40 percent of their bodies, were sent to Mackay Memorial Hospital in Tamsui District (淡水), Chang Kung Memorial Hospital in Linkou District (林口), both in New Taipei City, and Taipei Veterans General Hospital in Tianmu for emergency treatment.
Ministry of Health and Welfare spokesman Wang Che-chao (王哲超) early today said the injured were being treated at 43 hospitals in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan and Keelung.
The ministry said on its Web site that many of the victims would require skin grafts and the hospitals had put out urgent requests for other supplies to treat severe burns.
Photo: CNA
It also said that the injured, who were mostly in their late teens and 20s, included at least 13 foreigners.
Witnesses described the scene as "hell" as a ball of fire ripped through the crowd, most of whom were clad only in bathing suits.
Video footage showed crowds of people dancing in front of a stage and cheering as clouds of green and yellow powder were shot into the air above their heads.
Photo: CNA
The cheers turned to screams when the powder suddenly erupted into flames, engulfing many.
Eyewitnesses said some of those who had been burned jumped into a nearby pool, seeking relief from the pain, while others were helped by bystanders who poured water over them.
Authorities said in addition to skin burns, many of those hurt had suffered injuries caused by burns to the respiratory organs from inhaling the powders.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident. Five people, including the event manager, have been detained by police and are being questioned.
“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," a spokesman for the New Taipei City fire department said.
Authorities have closed the park until further notice.
The US Department of State yesterday criticized Beijing over its misrepresentation of the US’ “one China” policy in the latest diplomatic salvo between the two countries over a bid by Taiwan to regain its observer status at the World Health Assembly, the decisionmaking body of the WHO. “The PRC [People’s Republic of China] continues to publicly misrepresent U.S. policy,” Department of State spokesman Ned Price wrote on Twitter. “The United States does not subscribe to the PRC’s ‘one China principle’ — we remain committed to our longstanding, bipartisan one China policy, guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, Three Joint Communiques, and
FATES LINKED: The US president said that sanctions on Russia over Ukraine must exact a ‘long-term price,’ because otherwise ‘what signal does that send to China?’ US President Joe Biden yesterday vowed that US forces would defend Taiwan militarily in the event of a Chinese attack in his strongest statement to date on the issue. Beijing is already “flirting with danger,” Biden said following talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo, in which the pair agreed to monitor Chinese naval activity and joint Chinese-Russian exercises. Asked if Washington was willing to get involved militarily to defend Taiwan, he replied: “Yes.” “That’s the commitment we made,” Biden said. “We agreed with the ‘one China’ policy, we signed on to it ... but the idea that it can be
INFORMATION LEAKED: Documents from Xinjiang purportedly showed top leaders in Beijing calling for a forceful crackdown and even orders to shoot to kill Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday held a videoconference with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet as she visited Xinjiang during a mission overshadowed by fresh allegations of Uighur abuses and fears she is being used as a public relations tool. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been accused of detaining more than 1 million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in the region as part of a years-long crackdown the US and lawmakers in other Western nations have labeled a “genocide.” China denies the allegations. Bachelet was expected to visit the cities of Urumqi and Kashgar on a six-day tour. The US
SUBTLE? While Biden said the US policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ on Taiwan had not changed, the group targeted China and Russia without naming them Leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US yesterday warned against attempts to “change the status quo by force,” as concerns grow about whether China could invade Taiwan. The issue of Taiwan loomed over a leadership meeting in Tokyo of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) nations — the US, Japan, Australia and India — who stressed their determination to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific region in the face of an increasingly assertive China, although Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the group was not targeting any one country. The four leaders said in a joint statement issued after their talks
RSS