An explosion on stage at a water park outside Taiwan's capital Taipei on June 27 injured 200 people, 90 of them seriously.

Rescue victims of the explosion at Formosa Fun Coast water park in New Taipei City, Taiwan - Photo: Reuters.

The incident occurred when the colored powder sprayed on the crowd suddenly caught fire, according to AFP. A video posted on the Apple Daily website shows the crowd dancing to the music, when the colored powder sprayed towards them suddenly turned into a fireball.

People were terrified, screaming and running away from the stage area that had started to catch fire.

About 1,000 spectators attended the Color Play Asia event at the Formosa Fun Coast water park, just outside downtown Taipei, according to Taiwanese officials. 229 people were hospitalized, including 97 with serious injuries.

According to local media, there were cases of burns of more than 40%.

A doctor treating 41 victims at a hospital in Taipei said 17 of them had “severe burns” and respiratory injuries.

“The incident started from the left side of the stage. At first I thought it was part of the special effects of the ceremony but then I realised something was wrong and people started screaming and running away,” a witness said.

“Our initial assessment is that this was an explosion caused by the spraying of colored powder. The cause may have been the heat generated by the lighting system on stage,” said a spokesman for the New Taipei City Fire Department.

According to the spokesman, a person responsible for organizing this event has been arrested by the police for investigation. The fire was extinguished very quickly afterwards, but ambulances had difficulty accessing the scene.

“We are very saddened and regretful about this accident,” said New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu. “I have ordered the park to be closed immediately while we investigate the incident.”

(According to TTO)