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On 27 June 2015, a dust fire occurred at Formosa Fun Coast, a water park in
Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
,
New Taipei City New Taipei City is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in regions of Taiwan, northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, a ...
,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
. Staff of an outdoor "color powder party" sprayed clouds of
corn starch Cornflour, cornstarch, maize starch, or corn starch (American English) is the starch derived from corn (maize) grain. The starch is obtained from the endosperm of the seed, kernel. Corn starch is a common food ingredient, often used to thick ...
towards the participants, which ignited. The fire lasted 40 seconds and burned 508 people, killing 15 and leaving 199 in critical condition. Initially, only patches of airborne corn starch caught fire and extinguished almost instantly, but the staff sprayed carbon-dioxide
fire extinguisher A fire extinguisher is a handheld active fire protection device usually filled with a dry or wet chemical used to extinguish or control small fires, often in emergencies. It is not intended for use on an out-of-control fire, such as one which ha ...
s towards the participants, which, compounded by the running of the participants, dispersed the airborne corn starch into multiple dust clouds, responsible for most of the burning.


Background

The "Color Play Asia" party was inspired by the colored powder used in the Hindu religious festival "
Holi Holi () is a major Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love and Spring.The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...".Yudit Greenberg, Encyclopedia of Love in World ...
", also called "festival of colors", which is celebrated in India, Nepal, and other countries with large
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
populations. In August 2013, the first Taiwanese color party took place in Sizihwan,
Kaohsiung City Kaohsiung, officially Kaohsiung City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsiung City has a population of ...
. It was organized by the same event company that organized "Color Play Asia". That same year, a
National Tsing Hua University National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) is a public research university in Hsinchu, Taiwan. It was first founded in Beijing. After the Chinese Civil War, president Mei Yiqi and other academics relocated with the retreating Nationalist government to ...
expert warned that the colored powder used during the Color Play Asia parties might cause a
dust explosion A dust explosion is the rapid combustion of fine particles suspended in the air within an enclosed location. Dust explosions can occur where any dispersed powdered combustible material is present in high-enough concentrations in the atmosphere ...
if the material was combustible.


Event

On 27 June 2015, the "Color Play Asia" party was held at the Formosa Fun Coast water park. Party-goers were singing and dancing on the stage, which holds up to 1,000. Other party-goers danced in a drained
swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...
nearby. The concert organizers deployed colored corn starch powder in the festivities. The method of powder application at the concert created "an extremely dense dust cloud over the stage and its immediate vicinity", people near the stage were standing "almost ankle-deep" in colored corn starch powder, and the powder was repeatedly suspended into the air using air blowers as well as compressed gas canisters. At about 20:30, a large
deflagration Deflagration (Lat: ''de + flagrare'', 'to burn down') is subsonic combustion in which a pre-mixed flame propagates through an explosive or a mixture of fuel and oxidizer. Deflagrations in high and low explosives or fuel–oxidizer mixtures ma ...
occurred when a cloud of colored powder caught fire after being fired from the stage onto a crowd of 1,000 people during a concert. The powder caught fire due to heat from lights on the stage. Some of the crowd breathed in the powder, causing respiratory problems. As recorded in an amateur video by an audience member, a massive fireball suddenly engulfed the stage. The powder caught fire along the ground, resulting in burns mainly to victims' limbs and torsos. According to the authorities, the fire was quickly extinguished. The rescue included help from army vehicles and soldiers, along with medical services. Many people were taken to hospitals via taxis due to the lack of ambulances in the area.


Injuries and fatalities

The injured were treated in over 50 hospitals across Taiwan. As of 29 November 2015, 15 of the 497 injured had died, 44 victims remained hospitalized, and 11 were being treated at intensive care wards, while fifty-seven others were discharged from hospitals after treatment. Most of the injured were tertiary students in their twenties and late teens who had just started their summer vacation. An earlier estimate of 519 injured was due to double-counting of patients that were transferred between hospitals. Many victims were lightly clad because of hot weather () and the water park venue, and suffered burns over large portions of their bodies. Some victims suffered burns to 80–90% of their skin. Four foreigners injured in the event were flown home via International SOS flights for follow-up medical treatment on 29 June: two to
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
( Queen Mary Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital), one to
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
( Ruijin Hospital) and one to
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
(
Singapore General Hospital Singapore General Hospital (SGH) is an academic health science centre and tertiary referral hospital in Singapore. It is located next to the Bukit Merah and Chinatown districts of the Central Region, close to the Outram Community Hospital (O ...
). Two suicides were linked to the event: a father of a surviving burn victim committed suicide by hanging, while another man wanted to donate his skin to the victims after committing suicide by hanging.


Response

New Taipei City's mayor
Eric Chu Eric Li-luan Chu (; born on 7 June 1961) is a Taiwanese politician, statistician, and academic who is currently the Chairman of the Kuomintang, chairman of the Kuomintang (KMT). Born into a political family with strong ties to the Kuomintan ...
ordered an immediate shutdown of the water park pending an investigation. The man responsible for the event was detained by police for investigation. On 28 June, Taiwan Premier Mao Chi-kuo banned the use of colored powders at private events until the investigation is concluded and the powder can be considered safe. The event's organizer and hardware engineer were questioned and then given bail on the condition that they not leave the country. Lu Chung-chi apologized for the explosion on 28 June. On 28 June a spokesman for (mainland)
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
's
Taiwan Affairs Office The Taiwan Affairs Office is an administrative agency under the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is responsible for cross-strait relations and sets and implements guidelines and policies related to Taiwan, which is cl ...
, Ma Xiaoguang, expressed sympathy for the victims and hoped they all received timely and appropriate treatment. On 30 June Taiwan's Organ Registry and Sharing Center called for urgent donations of cadaver skin, since there were just 115 rolls left in the country's cadaver skin stocks. According to Chairman Lee Po-chang (), cadaver skin is more effective in blocking burn wounds from contamination sources and promoting skin regeneration than hog skin or synthetic skin. According to officials, the Ministry of Health and Welfare collaborated with the New Taipei City Public Health Department and made an announcement that all medical expenses of the burn patients from 27 June to 30 September will be covered by the National Health Insurance Administration and the National Health Insurance Program. On 2 July, a spokesman for China's
Taiwan Affairs Office The Taiwan Affairs Office is an administrative agency under the State Council of the People's Republic of China (PRC). It is responsible for cross-strait relations and sets and implements guidelines and policies related to Taiwan, which is cl ...
said it was ready to provide medical assistance to help treat the hundreds of people injured in the explosion. On 3 July, Taiwanese Minister of Health and Welfare Chiang Been-huang said he was grateful for China's offer to provide medical assistance, including donations of cadaver skin to Taiwan, but it should be first confirmed that the skin was not from executed prisoners. Cadaver skin from the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
was sent to Taiwan.


Investigation

Investigators raised the question of whether the powder was ignited by a cigarette or spark. Organizers had purchased three tons of the powder, and wrote on their Facebook page that it consisted of cornstarch and food coloring. The powder was sprayed from the stage onto concert-goers "at high velocity". The vice president of Tai Won Food Industrial Co, which makes the powder, says that there are warnings on the packages not to use them in closed spaces or under high temperatures because it can catch fire. The New Taipei City news department head stated, "It's still not clear what happened, but there were a number of people smoking and the weather was warm." The Fire Department's preliminary conclusion was that the fire was caused by the sprayed powder, and that stage lights may have been the source of ignition.
WuFeng University The WuFeng University (WFU; ) is a private university of technology in Minxiong Township, Chiayi County, Taiwan with more than 6000 students. WuFeng University offers undergraduate and graduate programs in a wide range of fields, including bu ...
fire science department instructor and Taichung Harbor Fire Department deputy captain Lu Shou-chien commented in a letter to the Chinese-language ''United Daily News'' that the event organizers had set up necessary conditions for a disaster, and had not used water sprays which would have reduced the risk of ignition. Smoking was permitted at the event, and approximately 40 cigarette butts were found afterwards. In October 2015, the committee set up by the New Taipei City government to oversee monetary donations related to the explosion announced plans to distribute the collected funds. Survivors were to receive between NT$65,000 and NT$6.5 million, depending on the severity of injuries sustained in the dust explosion. The families of the twelve people who had died were compensated NT$8.25 million. On 16 October 2015,
Shilin District Shilin District (also spelled Shihlin District, zh, t=士林區, p=Shìlínqū, poj=Sū-lîm-khu) is a district of Taipei. The central command center of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) is located in Shilin. History The name ''Shilin'' w ...
prosecutors charged the event organizer, Lu Chung-chi, with negligence during the disaster; owners of the park were not indicted. Lu was found guilty of the charges in April 2016. In 2018, Lu was sentenced to five years in prison. In June 2016, the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
authorized the seizure of NT$507 million in assets from the park's senior administration. The National Health Insurance Administration also sought compensation worth NT$436 million from event organizers in court, claiming that the medical cost incurred by the NHIA totaled NT$765 million.


Aftermath

After the accident, the government has adopted several emergency-related measures, such as the easing of the requirements for National Health Insurance coverage for burn victims, and importing large amounts of
artificial Artificiality (the state of being artificial, anthropogenic, or man-made) is the state of being the product of intentional human manufacture, rather than occurring naturally through processes not involving or requiring human activity. Connotati ...
and cadaver skin.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:New Taipei water park fire, 2015 2015 fires in Asia 2015 in Taiwan 2015 disasters in Taiwan Amusement park fires Dust explosions Fires in Taiwan History of New Taipei June 2015 in Asia Filmed deaths in Asia Viral videos Building and structure fires in Asia