Update | Five arrested after 'party powder' explosion at Taiwan park wounds over 500 people, including Hongkongers
Authorities say initial findings point to colourful powder igniting inferno due to heat or machinery
At least 519 people, including five women from Hong Kong, were injured when a large volume of flammable powder exploded in the air at a water park in New Taipei City on Saturday night, authorities said.
A spokesman for the local fire department said the explosion and fire were understood to have been caused by coloured powder, which was sprayed into the air during a dance party at the Formosa Fun Coast water park, igniting "due to the heat of the lights on stage".
Deputy fire chief Chen Chung-yueh said on Sunday that the blast may have been caused by “sparks from machinery or lighting equipment”.
“The explosion occurred when a large volume of unknown coloured powder spewed out into the air at an open stage in the Formosa water park, [which] caught on fire at around 8.30 pm,” a police spokesman said by phone last night.
Video clips posted on the internet showed people screaming and shouting for help when a wave of smoke caught flame over the stage. Soon afterwards, the entire stage was engulfed in a blaze.
The park was staging a “Colour Play Asia” party, with many in their swimwear dancing on the stage, police said. Around 1,000 spectators had been at the event, according to officials.
