Taiwan probes water park fire as tally of injured put at 498
By J.R. Wu and Pichi Chuang TAIPEI (Reuters) – The number of party revelers injured in a fire at a Taiwan water park was put at 498 on Sunday as authorities began investigating the cause, suspected to be a sudden explosion of a colored powder thrown on those attending the party. The figure released late Sunday by local authorities was lower than an earlier estimate of 519 injured due to patients being transferred between hospitals and being double-counted, a government official said. The blaze, which broke out at around 8.30 p.m. at the Formosa Fun Coast water park on the outskirts of the capital, Taipei, is suspected to have been caused by an explosion of the colored powder, local government official Lin Chieh-yu told Reuters.