Fireworks injure 33 at 2010 Lantern Festival in Chiayi

　　The opening of the festival was planned to feature a stunning and color yet harmless fireworks display. However, burning fragments fell onto both the crowd and the stage, injuring 33 people, who were sent to the St. Martin De Porres Hospital, the Chia-yi Christian Hospital and the Yang Ming Hospital for emergency care.

Poyayi (伯亞益), the company in charge of the opening ceremony, decided to set off the fireworks on Sunday after receiving satisfactory results from two safety tests on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27. However, a change in weather conditions may have changed the trajectory of the fireworks, causing the burning fragments to land on spectators.

The Chiayi City Government, which hosted the event, has compensated the medical costs for the injured spectators and “will also make every effort to take care of the affected visitors, including requesting the best medical care for the hospitalized patients and tracking the conditions of the injured spectators who have returned home,” emphasized Huang Min-hui, the Chiayi City mayor.

The five injured people remaining at Chia-yi Christian Hospital are all in stable condition. They include one female child suffering from third-degree burns on her face and four others suffering from various facial, hand and foot burns. An elderly woman was not injured but remains at St. Martin De Porres Hospital due to high blood pressure triggered by the event.

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