20-year-old dies from injuries in Taiwan water park blaze

World Today

TAIWAN-ACCIDENTPeople tend to an injured woman at the Formosa Fun Coast amusement park after an explosion in the Pali district of New Taipei City on June 27, 2015. More than 200 people were injured, over 80 of them seriously, in an explosion at an amusement park outside Taiwan’s capital Taipei Saturday after coloured powder being sprayed onto a crowd ignited, officials said. AFP PHOTO / STR

One of the 498 people injured in a water park blaze on Saturday night in New Taipei City, Taiwan died in hospital on Monday.

The 20-year-old woman, surnamed Lee, suffered burns to 90 percent of her body, according to Chung Shan Medical University Hospital in the island’s Taichung city.

The fire was sparked by an accidental explosion of colored theatrical powder sprayed from the stage at about 1,000 people. An event called “Color Play Asia” was being held at the park.

More than 400 people are hospitalized, with 200 in serious condition, according to local officials. Eight have suffered life-threatening injuries, local media said. The victims are being treated in 43 local hospitals.

The organizers of the event had reportedly decided to use carbon dioxide cylinders to spray the powder onto audiences. A still unknown heat source triggered the explosion.

A ban on colored powder at future events in the city has been announced. The water park has been ordered to close.

TAIWAN-ACCIDENT-FIRE

This frame grab from video footage provided by Apple Daily from reader Miss Huang on June 28, 2015 shows revelers being engulfed by flames at the Formosa Fun Coast water park in Pali district, in New Taipei City, on June 27, 2015. More than 500 people were injured, almost 200 of them seriously, when a ball of fire ripped through a crowd at a water park outside Taiwan’s capital Taipei, authorities said. AFP PHOTO / APPLE DAILY / MISS HUANG