Taiwan water park fire
Injured victims from an accidental explosion during a music concert lie on the ground at the Formosa Water Park in New Taipei City, Taiwan, June 27, 2015. About 200 people were injured after a fire suspected to have stemmed from the explosion of an unknown flammable powder occurred in a recreational park in northern Taiwan, local media reported on Saturday. Reuters/Wang Wei

The number of people reported injured after an explosion at a water park in Taiwan Saturday has risen to 516, according to a Taiwanese news agency. Early reports indicated that around 200 people had been injured in the incident. The explosion, at Formosa Fun Coast Water Park in New Taipei, is suspected to be the result of flammable powder, which was fired into the air at a party, igniting.

No deaths have been reported as a result of the explosion but, according to a report from Taiwan's Central News Agency, 194 of the injured are in intensive care treatment units, and eight people have life-threatening injuries. There were reportedly 10,000 young people at the venue when the explosion took place.

Ministry of Health and Welfare spokesman Wang Zhe-chao said that the injured were receiving treatment at 38 separate hospitals in Taipei and the surrounding area.

Almost all of the injured appear to be Taiwanese, with the agency reporting that only two foreigners and four visitors from mainland China were among those affected by the blast.

The explosion took place around 8:30 p.m. local time on Saturday (8:30 a.m. EDT), during an event called “Color Party Asia,” a dance music concert in which revelers are sprayed with clouds of colored powder. A promotional video on the event's Facebook page shows thousands of partygoers at a large event being sprayed with a dust-like substance.

Footage broadcast on local television showed flames reaching into the sky, and revelers carrying the injured on makeshift stretchers.

According to the BBC, one witness told local TV: "It started on the left side of the stage. At the beginning I thought it was part of the special effects of the party but then I realised there was something wrong."

Agency reports, cited by the New York Times, said that the person responsible for live events at the park, Lu Zhongji, 41, and two other park employees were being questioned by police, and that several employees may face charges of negligence and public endangerment.

The park has been closed by authorities, and an official investigation of the incident is ongoing.

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