Fireworks are a pre-requisite of music festivals but after what happened at the 20th Jecheon International Music and Film Festival in Jecheon City, South Korea last Friday (Sep 6), let’s just say we’re starting to feel a tad wary of them.
Instead of being shot up into the air, the fireworks were released into the audience.
According to Korean news outlet KBS, there were around 2,000 people in the audience at the time of the accident.
A man in his 40s and a woman in her teens were burned by the fireworks and they were sent to the hospital for treatment alongside 15 other injured audience members.
The festival was briefly suspended after the mishap but resumed soon after.
According to reports, the city’s police have gathered that the fireworks were prepared by the organisers, and were mistakenly released into the direction of the audience. The cause of the malfunction has yet to be confirmed, and an investigation of the incident is still underway.
Jecheon City and the film festival office have since posted an apology on their website and have promised to assist in the recovery of injured participants.
Fireworks and special effects were also removed from the second night of the festival, which was held the next day.