Fatal Colour

Two Years on From the Formosa Fun Coast Tragedy

Bethany Green

On the 27th of June 2015, clouds of coloured cornstarch powder used for party effects during a “colour play” party at Formosa Fun Coast, Taiwan, suddenly ignited and engulfed partygoers in flames. Around 1,000 young people were at the water park when the explosion occurred. Fifteen people died and over 470 were injured. It was the largest medical emergency in Taiwan since the 1999 earthquake.

Danica Chan, 23, was among the partygoers that horrific evening. She was 18 years old at the time — a freshman at Yuan-ze University — and was celebrating the end of their first semester together with several of her high school friends.

“We arrived at the water park around 4pm. It was a scorching hot day,” Danica said. “The DJ was playing music on a stage in an empty swimming pool, people were dancing and coloured powder was being spread out from the stage into the crowd. Everything seemed perfect.”

Danica and her friends had squeezed their way to the front of the crowd, about five meters away from the DJ.

“Everyone was having a great time,” she said. “Powder was being tossed around in large quantities — we were ankle deep in the stuff. So many colours; blue, pink, red, yellow. There was so much of it in the air that I felt that I couldn’t breathe properly.”

Suddenly, they heard a loud sound coming from the stage, and a sudden rush of bright orange and red light.

“At first, we thought it was a stage effect. Then the screaming started. I will never forget that sound. By the time I realised it wasn’t a part of the show, it was too late — my whole body was on fire.”

After a few moments, it was as if Danica had suddenly come to her senses again, “almost like I had ‘woken up,’” she said.

“The first thing I noticed was the smell; it smelt like a BBQ. Then I realised I had been burnt by the fire. I raised my arms and saw that the skin had turned dark and was peeling off in large flaps.”

She knew she had to find water to cool down her skin, and as she hobbled her way out of the pool — her shoes had been completely burnt away by the fire — she passed a boy lying on the ground unresponsive. His friend was by his side, desperately calling his name.

“I felt like an actress in a disaster movie, walking through the aftermath of a tragedy. People were crying in pain and shouting for help, with blood and coloured powder spread all around. It just didn’t feel real.”

For many of the young partygoers, Danica included, the physical and mental trauma they suffered that horrific evening will accompany them throughout the rest of their lives.

But how did a tragedy like this actually happen?

According to Lu Shou-chien, Wufeng University fire science department instructor and Taichung Harbor Fire Department deputy captain, there were a number of factors at play that evening.

“We define this tragedy as a powder fire, rather than an explosion,” Lu said. “At the venue, there was a large amount of powder being spewed from cylinders into the air while electric fans were used to create a stage effect. There were ignition sources too, such as cigarette butts, the light emitting from the big computer screens and electric switches.”

The event organiser had used starch-based powder and gave additional packets to all of the participants. Lu said that the packaging had contained warning messages, such as, ‘It is dangerous to use this powder in an enclosed space’ — but there was no precedent to this event in Taiwan. No one had any idea of the extent of damage this seemingly harmless coloured powder could cause.

“Plus, except for one fire extinguisher, there were no other fire safety measures or equipment present at the venue, nor was there a smoking ban,” Lu said. “These elements combined caused the unfortunate incident.”

Following the accident, the government imposed a sweeping ban on all events using powder. The next month, the Interior Ministry banned the use of flammable powder in public spaces.

Four years later, the memory of the water park fire remains fresh in the minds of the public, and not a single power related event has been held in Taiwan since. However, colour powder events, particularly colour runs, remain popular internationally, including in Australia. UTAS has even hosted several “Colour Me Active” events held in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

So, should we be concerned?

“Powder events held in other countries are strictly regulated,” said Lu. “For example, flammable materials are banned, non-smoking bans are put in place, and participants are not allowed to use lighters. There are also regulations regarding the density of the powder used.

“To ensure personal safety [during these events], I suggest that people stay in the places the wind is blowing from, rather than downwind.”

He further suggested that organisers at these events must strictly check everything, including whether first aid service is available and make sure to use inflammable powders such as hygienic powder and gypsum.

“I also strongly recommend that the organizer sprays large amounts of small water droplets in the air to increase humidity as it reduces the risk of a fire,” Lu said.

While Taiwan has responded to this tragedy, for the victims of the 2015 fire, it’s too little, too late.

Following the incident, Danica spent two months at the hospital and took a leave of absence from study for a whole year.

“I suffered burns to 63 per cent of my skin, the worst of which were the burns on my legs and hands. The skin was so damaged, it was unable to grow back anymore. So they had to shave my head and use skin from my scalp to transplant onto my legs.

“When I looked at my legs, I didn’t recognise it as my own. It was red, swollen, inflexible and was covered in scars. After five surgeries and many therapies, I was finally able to return home.”

At first, she thought returning home would be a relief. However, readjusting to daily life proved to be a significant challenge — both mentally and physically.

“I had to relearn everything again from scratch: how to walk and stand, how to bend my knees, arms, and fingers, and so many basic movements and simple actions. I went to the therapy centre every day for a full year.”

“Nowadays, people continue to openly stare. Especially, on the bus and the train, it’s very uncomfortable, but I can’t do anything about it,” Danica said. “I don’t want their pity, or to be treated differently. It’s fine. Just treat me like a normal person.”

Now, Danica has returned to Yuan-ze University, where she is studying foreign languages. After graduation, she hopes to find a job that allows her to communicate with people, perhaps working as a psychologist, to help people solve their problems.

“Even today, I sometimes feel like I am living in a dream. I want to wake up, but I can’t. Facing the difficulties head on and controlling my thoughts are the only thing I can do. I’m not better off because of what happened to me, but I won’t let those differences define me.”

Bethany Green is a foreign correspondent at Togatus and a current New Colombo Plan scholarship holder. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the views of the Australian Government. Togatus would like to thank Radio Taiwan International for assistance in producing this story.