First death reported in Taiwan fire

Police recommend criminal charges as 200 remain hospitalised in serious condition

A20-year-old woman died yesterday from injuries she suffered in an explosion and fire at a party in a Taiwan amusement park, reports said.

A flammable powder exploded and a concert stage caught fire at the Formosa Water Park in New Taipei on Saturday where about 1,000 people were participating in a dance party.

The coloured powder had been sprayed over the crowd.

Li Pei-yun, 20, died yesterday morning in a hospital in central Taiwan, the agency said. Li was sent to hospital with burns covering 90 per cent of her body, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.

According to the Apple Daily, Li went to the party with her 12-year-old brother, who also suffered severe burns and remains in intensive care in Taipei.

“For patients who suffer severe burns, the real challenge is dealing with the infection in the following days,” said Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-je.

Investigation

Investigators in Taiwan were focusing yesterday on the possibility that a cigarette butt or spark caused the blaze that burnt more than 500 people at a weekend water park party when coloured powder sprayed from the stage caught fire.

More than 400 people remained hospitalised, 200 in serious condition, city officials said. Eight suffered life-threatening injuries, local media said.

Police recommended criminal charges against the organiser of Saturday’s party, as well as two technicians, at the Formosa Fun Coast theme 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 (96.8F) before the party.