ABC News
Date: Jun 29, 2015
By: RALPH JENNINGS Associated Press
Investigators in Taiwan were focusing Monday on the possibility that a cigarette butt or
Police investigators inspect the stage area after an accidental explosion during a music concert at the Formosa Water Park in New Taipei City, Taiwan, early Sunday, June 28, 2015. A fire on a music stage spread into a crowd of spectators at a Saturday night party at a Taiwan water park, injuring more than 500 people, authorities said Sunday. (AP Photo)
spark caused the blaze that burned 498 people, killing one, at a weekend water park party when colored powder sprayed from the stage caught fire.
More than 400 people remained hospitalized, including 202 in serious condition, city officials said. A 20-year-old woman with burns to 90 percent of her body died after being taken off life support with her family’s consent, said a hospital spokeswoman, who spoke anonymously because she wasn’t authorized to speak publicly.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency said her 12-year-old brother also had burns on 90 percent of his body.
Police recommended criminal charges against the organizer of Saturday’s party, as well as two technicians, at the Formosa Fun Coast park in suburban Taipei.
“It’s still not clear what happened, but there were a number of people smoking and the weather was warm,” New Taipei City news department head Lin Chieh-yu said. Temperatures around greater Taipei topped 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 F) before the party. [FULL STORY]
