PROVO, Utah (AP) — A faulty firework rolled into the stands at a crowded Utah football stadium, hitting fans. Independence Day celebrationAs many as six people were taken to hospital, according to authorities and event organizers.
The accident, Stadium of Fire ShowThe main event of Provo’s annual Freedom Festival is held at Brigham Young University’s LaVell Edwards Stadium.
Freedom Festival spokesman Emory Cook said organizers halted the show for about 15 minutes while the injured audience members received treatment.
Cook said six people were taken to hospital, but it was not immediately clear how many people were hit by fireworks or the extent of their injuries.
Local authorities are investigating the cause of the incident, in which fireworks were set off inside the stadium as several jet planes passed overhead.
Videos posted on social media showed individual fireworks from a cluster swerving and launching above the field before landing among rows of seats in the outdoor arena. Cook said about 45,000 people attended the sold-out show.
“We’re pretty sure the fireworks malfunctioned, but we’re still investigating why that happened,” Cook said.
Theresa Jack of Provo, who was watching the game from the field, said she saw a rocket fly overhead and fly into the stadium’s east stands, then explode, sending up a large plume of smoke like a bomb going off.
The crowd waved their hands to alert authorities that someone was injured and began yelling “Stop the show” at the speaker onstage, she said.
Jack said spectators were asked to remain in their seats while the injured were directed to gather in a medical tent for treatment, and he credited a well-coordinated response with preventing crowds from stampeding.
Provo Fire Rescue spokeswoman Jeannie Atherton said firefighters and paramedics were on the scene when the show started and were able to reach the injured spectator within a minute.
She said her department only transported one person to the hospital, but other victims may have been transported in personal vehicles.
In this event, Jonas BrothersBYU Police Department spokeswoman Karen Ellingsworth said the fireworks were inspected following the incident and then resumed with permission from the Provo fire chief.
Cook said the fireworks that malfunctioned inside the stadium were relatively small compared to the larger fireworks used in the show’s finale, which he said are stored outside the stadium.
Jack, who went to the festival to see the Jonas Brothers, said she and her friends almost left during the finale because of an early malfunction, but stayed because the show was so good. But she said she was as impressed by the drones as the show’s traditional fireworks, and thought they might be a better way to celebrate Independence Day.
“Maybe it’s time to reevaluate this tradition,” she said.
