CARNIVAL BLAST
Paris Villepinte carnival disaster leaves five in hospital and dozens including children seriously injured as hundreds flee in panic
Onlookers were pelted with burning hot "spears" of debris as they ran for their lives
FIVE people were rushed to hospital - including one child - and dozens more were injured when a fireworks display exploded into the crowd at a carnival near Paris today.
Dramatic footage appears to show a huge fireball sparking terror among the watching crowd, injuring children as young as two.
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The horrific accident happened in Villepinte, in the French capital’s northern suburbs, where children when a wooden guy-style figure dubbed Mr Carnival went up in smoke.
Dozens were injured, including 18 seriously including three children, with Paris fire brigade spokeswoman Nathalie Crespin saying many people suffered facial injuries.
She said five had been hospitalised, including one child, but their lives were not in danger.
A mother and her child were among those seriously injured and the town's mayor was also hurt in the blast, according to local reports.
An eyewitness said: “The kid was screaming and covered in blood. To begin with, everyone thought the explosion was planned, then we realised something had gone terribly wrong.
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“Bits of the guy and other debris flew towards us in every direction, like spears. The bits of wood were burning hot.
“People were shouting in panic, and the worst hit were lying on the floor. They had just lit the effigy, and the idea was that it would light up and burn surrounded by flares.”
Shocking footage, which is yet to be verified, appears to show the moment the guy lights up before exploding in a massive fireball as onlookers flee.
There were hundreds of children inside the Guy Mousset Stadium, where the carnival was being held to celebrate the start of Spring.
The source said: “Many parents lost their children in the mass panic, and were running around trying to find them.”
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Among those hurt was Martine Valleton, the Mayor of Villepinte, who was hit in the right leg.
A spokesman for Ms Valleton said: "The accident was completely unpredictable.
"She is being treated along with the others injured."
A Bengal Fire is meant to involve lots of well-controlled flares lighting up a building or – in this case – the guy.
They can last for up to five minutes but are banned in many countries because of the dangers involved.
The event, called the Yellow Carnival, at Villepinte regularly creates one around an effigy made of wood and straw.
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Despite warnings, hundreds of people including young families were watching as the explosion happened just before 6pm.
An orchestra was playing, and floats that had taken part in an earlier carnival procession were all nearby, prompting fears that the fire could spread.
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A spokesman for the local emergency services said: "Around thirty vehicles including ambulances and fire engines are at the scene. The emergency is ongoing."
By 8.30pm the area around the stadium had been sealed off by scores of police, and an advanced medical post had been set up to deal with the wounded.
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