Fireworks disaster kills seven-year-old boy and his sister, 24: Footage from French display shows rockets firing into crowd as spectators try to escape
- Seven-year-old boy and big sister killed in Bastille Day disaster in France’s Cholet
- The pair were 50 meters away from the launch pad, with fireworks hitting the crowd after the blast
- Fifteen fire trucks sent to parade ground in northwest city last night
- Manslaughter investigation now underway, city prosecutor says
A seven-year-old boy and his sister, 24, were killed when fireworks hit a crowd at a Bastille Day celebration in… France last night.
Horror footage shows the display going awry on the parade ground in Cholet, in northwestern France, with flames on the grass and crowds running away.
Seven more were injured. One person was taken to hospital with burns.
The siblings, who have not yet been identified, were about 50 yards from the fireworks launching pad, according to Cholet’s prosecutor, Éric Bouillard.
The fireworks continued until a rocket appeared to be heading into the crowd (left). Right: A little boy was filmed driving away from the stage with an empty pram
Flames on the parade ground could be seen in the distance immediately after the explosion
He announced that a manslaughter investigation had been opened.
Bouillard described the tragedy as a “shooting incident,” suggesting the fireworks had hit spectators.
He added that it is “far too early” to speculate on the causes of the disaster.
About 70 firefighters in 15 vehicles were quickly dispatched to the scene, according to Cholet Mayor Gilles Bourdouleix.
Mr Bourdouleix said it is the first time there has been a breakdown in the city’s fireworks.
Laurent Picard, who took two daughters, ages eight and 13, to the show, said he was feet away from the launch pad when it appeared to explode.
He told BFM TV: ‘I was 5/6 meters away from the explosion with my two daughters. Sparks hit me and felt the heat of the explosion.
“Fortunately, where I was placed, I served in a sense as a shield for my daughters.”
Mr Picard said he saw a woman being urgently resuscitated by paramedics and another person lying on the ground in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.