The last patient injured in a deadly dust explosion at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里) on June 27 last year was discharged from hospital earlier this month, while recovery for the hundreds of people injured in the incident continues, health authorities said yesterday, six days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the disaster.
The patient, a 21-year-old man with burns covering 90 percent of his body, was discharged on June 3 after receiving treatment at two hospitals in Taipei for a total of 341 days, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) said.
NHIA official Chang Wen-wen (張溫溫) said the man underwent several skin grafts and physical therapy on his joints.
The blast at the water park occurred when colored cornstarch powder, used for party effects, exploded and burst into flames, engulfing partygoers.
A total of 508 people were injured and 15 died from their injuries.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 281 of the victims sustained burns that covered more than 40 percent of their bodies, including 41 people with burns to more than 80 percent of their bodies.
The National Health Insurance program has paid more than NT$765 million (US$23.73 million) to cover the victims’ medical costs, Chang said.
Meanwhile, the NHIA has filed a lawsuit against the party’s organizers and other related parties with the Shilin District Court as it seeks NT$436 million in compensation to cover the costs incurred in the first month after the accident, Chang said.
The case has yet to come before the court, she added.
In April, Lu Chung-chi (呂忠吉), the head of the local firm that organized the Color Play Asia party at the water park, was found guilty of negligence causing death and injury and was sentenced by the Shilin court to four years and 10 months in prison.
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