Three weeks after fire engulfed hundreds of young partygoers, parents keep vigil at their children’s bedsides, willing them to survive
South China Morning Post
Date: 16 July, 2015
By: Agence France-Presse in Taipei
Almost three weeks after a fireball engulfed hundreds of young partygoers in Taiwan, the
Michael Chu displays an image of his 18-year-old daughter, Julie, at a hospital in Taipei. Julie suffered burns to more than 70 per cent of her body in the water park explosion. Photo: AFP
death toll continues to rise with agonising slowness as parents keep vigil at their children’s bedsides, willing those who survived to stay alive.
“She almost lost her heartbeat,” said Michael Chu, father of 18-year-old student Julie, who suffered burns to more than 70 per cent of her body when the inferno scorched through the crowd at a water park on June 28.
“We kept calling her name, telling her not to be taken by the devil and that she had to live on bravely,” Chu said.
Around 1,000 revellers had gathered for a “colour party” at the Formosa Fun Coast water park, which turned into a nightmare when plumes of decorative corn starch being sprayed on the crowd ignited.
“She has to face the rest of her life like this, to deal with it on her own when we are no longer around”
Michael Chu, father of victim
Horrific amateur footage showed crowds running for their lives, screaming as they were overtaken by flames. [FULL STORY]
