A malfunctioning firework veered into the stands of a crowded American football stadium during Independence Day celebrations on July 4, hitting spectators and sending up to six people to hospital, according to authorities and event organizers.
The incident occurred during the opening ceremony of the Stadium of Fire Show, the highlight of Provo’s annual Freedom Festival, held at Brigham Young University’s LaVell Edwards Stadium in Utah.
Freedom Festival spokesman Emory Cook said organizers halted the show for about 15 minutes while the injured audience members received treatment.
About 45,000 people attended the sold-out show, and six people were taken to hospital with injuries from the incident. (Isaac Hale/AP)
Cook said six people were taken to hospital, but it was unclear how many 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 shooting off into the air above the field, then veering off into the air and landing between 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.
Firefighters and paramedics arrived on the scene as the show was starting and were able to reach the injured spectator within a minute, said Jeannie Atherton, spokeswoman for Provo Fire Rescue.
Smoke rises into the stands during a Fourth of July fireworks display at LaVell Edwards Stadium. (Theresa Jack/AP)
She said her department only transported one person to the hospital, but other victims may have been transported in personal vehicles.
Cook said the fireworks that malfunctioned inside the stadium were relatively small compared to the larger fireworks used in the show’s finale.
Larger fireworks will be stored outside the stadium, he added.
The event, which featured the Jonas Brothers, resumed with the permission of the Provo fire chief after the fireworks were inspected following the incident, said BYU Police Department spokeswoman Karen Ellingsworth.
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.
Provo resident Teresa Jack, 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.
Fireworks erupt into the sky during a Fourth of July celebration at LaVell Edwards Stadium. (Isaac Hale/Associated Press)
She said the crowd there began waving their hands to let authorities know they needed help, and attendees quickly banded together to report injuries and yelled at the speaker onstage to “stop the show.”
Jack said spectators were asked to remain in their seats while the injured were directed to gather in a medical tent for treatment, a well-coordinated response that helped prevent crowds from stampeding.
Jack, who attended the festival to see the Jonas Brothers, said she and her friends almost left during the finale after an initial malfunction, but stayed because the performance was “amazing.”
But she said she was as impressed by the drones as she was by the show’s traditional fireworks, and thought they might be a better way to celebrate the Fourth of July.
“Incidents like this give us an opportunity to reflect on our traditions,” she said.
