PROVO, Utah (AP) — Malfunctioning fireworks veered into the stands at a crowded Utah soccer stadium and struck members of the viewers throughout a Fourth of July celebration, sending as much as six folks to the hospital, in response to authorities and the occasion organizer.
The accident occurred through the opening ceremonies of the Stadium of Fireplace present, the flagship occasion at Provo’s annual Freedom Competition at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Brigham Younger College.
Organizers halted the present for about quarter-hour whereas injured viewers members acquired medical consideration, mentioned Freedom Competition spokesperson Emory Prepare dinner.
Six folks had been taken to the hospital, Prepare dinner mentioned, however the quantity struck by fireworks and the severity of their accidents was not instantly obtainable.
The reason for the mishap — which concerned fireworks shot off contained in the stadium as a number of jets handed overhead — is beneath investigation by native authorities.
Movies posted on social media present particular person fireworks veering off from the cluster despatched into the sky over the sector and touchdown amongst rows of spectators within the stands on the out of doors area. About 45,000 folks attended the sold-out present, Prepare dinner mentioned.
“Positively a firework malfunctioned, however we’re nonetheless making an attempt to determine how that occurred,” Prepare dinner mentioned.
Fireplace division personnel and paramedics had been on scene when the present began and had been in a position to attain the injured viewers members inside a minute, mentioned Provo Fireplace and Rescue spokesperson Jeanie Atherton.
She mentioned her division transported just one particular person to the hospital however that different victims might need passed by private automobiles.
The fireworks that malfunctioned contained in the stadium had been comparatively small in comparison with the big pyrotechnics which can be used through the present’s finale, Prepare dinner mentioned. These bigger fireworks are stored exterior the stadium, he mentioned.
Following the accident, the BYU Police Division allowed organizers to proceed with the occasion, which featured the Jonas Brothers, KUTV reported.