Barges carrying fireworks ablaze in Japan; five flee into sea
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Organisers of the summer festival were quoted telling investigators that they “lost control of the fireworks on the boats”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
TOKYO – Two barges loaded with fireworks for a summer festival display near Tokyo caught fire, forcing five workers to jump into the sea, officials said.
Aerial footage by public broadcaster NHK on the night of Aug 4 showed one of the vessels ablaze in the sea off Yokohama – a city south of Tokyo – with pink and white sparks flying in all directions.
One of the barges was carrying five workers, all of whom jumped into the sea to escape and were later rescued, the Yokohama coast guard bureau said on Aug 4.
One worker sustained an injury, which local media reports said was minor.
Organisers of the summer festival were quoted by NHK telling investigators that they “lost control of the fireworks on the boats”, with police and the coast guard probing the causes of the incident.
Fireworks are a fixture of Japan’s summer, drawing crowds of festivalgoers – from couples to friends to families – often clad in “yukata” summer kimonos. AFP
