Civilian injury rises to 516 in Taiwan park blaze

TAIPEI, June 28 -- The number of injured caused by a blaze in a recreational water park in Taiwan rises to 516, according to local health department on Sunday morning.

A total of 194 people have been severely wounded, with no death reported yet, said New Taipei city health bureau.

Most of the victims suffer over 50 percent burn area on body, and have inhaled large sum of black carbon dust, said the health department.

The injured people were immediately sent to the local and nearby 39 hospitals for treatment.

The health department said they have launched an emergency rescue mechanism, calling for medical institutions of four nearby cities including Taipei and Keelung to get fully prepared for treatment.

The hospitals will perform surgical debridement on those with inhalation injury to prevent further nerve and vessel impairment.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said the mainland authorities expressed sympathy for the injured cross-Strait compatriots, and hope they can receive timely and proper treatment to get well soon.

The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) has contacted Taiwan's Strait Exchange Foundation (SEF), expressing wishes to provide all the possible assistance for the disaster rescue and relief, said the spokesman.

The ARATS has also been actively helping the relatives of several injured mainland visitors to go to Taiwan, said Ma.

A fire broke out from the explosion of a large amount of flammable powder in a recreational park in Taiwan's New Taipei city on Saturday evening.

The park was then having a Color Play Asia party with a total of 4500 people, when sudden sparks of the powder soon turned into huge blaze which flew off in all directions and engulfed people.

This is the worst incident of mass injury in the history of New Taipei city.