Injuries revised down to 498 in Taiwan water park blaze
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E-mail Xinhua, June 29, 2015
The number of people injured in an explosion and fire in a recreational water park in Taiwan has been revised down to 498, the local health department said Sunday.
The revision was made after the New Taipei city health bureau cleared overlapping calculations due to transfers of patients to other hospitals.
A total of 202 people are severely injured, but no deaths are reported yet, according to the New Taipei city health bureau.
Among the injured are two students from the Chinese mainland, five from Hong Kong and six foreigners.
Most of the victims suffered severe burns or have inhaled large amounts of black carbon dust. The injured are being treated in 43 local hospitals.
The island's health department has launched an emergency response routine, calling for medical institutions in nearby cities including Taipei and Keelung to help treat the injured.
A total of 183 patients in intensive care need urgent skin-grafts, said Wang Tsung-hsi, director of the medical affairs bureau of Taiwan's health and welfare department, earlier on Sunday.
The bureau has sent out urgent calls to organ donation centers and the plastic surgery medical association for donated skin, artificial skin and albumin among other biological necessities.
Fire broke out at the main stage after the explosion of a large amount of flammable powder in a recreational park in Taiwan's New Taipei city Saturday evening. The park was having a Color Play Asia party attended by a total of 4,500 people, when powder ejected from a performance stage ignited, flying off in all directions and engulfing the audience.
It is the worst incidence of mass injury in the history of New Taipei city.
Among the injured are Chen Lingdan and Zhuang Chujun, both students from the Chinese mainland who are studying in Taiwan's Chiao Tung University.
With all her arms and legs bandaged up, Chen, 24, looked pale Sunday afternoon as she received treatment in MacKay Memorial Hospital. "She suffered burns to 53 percent of her body and was in great pain when she woke up," said her tutor Wendy Lai.
"We have just finished this term's courses, Chen and Zhuang went to party to relax. They forwarded us photos taken at the park at about six o'clock yesterday," said their classmate Wang Yiyi.
Chen was close to the water and managed to put out the fire on her body quickly, but Zhuang was closer to the stage and suffered much worse injuries, Wang said. Zhuang is still in the intensive care unit of another hospital in Taipei.
Both Chen and Zhuang's parents have been notified and are expected to arrive in the island in about two days, according to Wendy Lai.
At an emergency meeting Sunday, Eric Chu, mayor of New Taipei, ordered a complete moratorium on the use of carbon powder in his jurisdiction.
Authorities in other parts of the island also quickly controlled use of powders and other flammable materials in public places to prevent more accidents.
Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, expressed sympathy for the victims Sunday, and hoped they all received timely and appropriate treatment.
The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) has contacted Taiwan's Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF) to provide all possible assistance, said the spokesman.
ARATS has been actively helping the relatives of injured mainland visitors to go to Taiwan.
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