Firework 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 Cholet, France
- Pair were 50m away from launch pad, with firework hitting crowd after blast
- Fifteen fire engines dispatched to parade site in north-western town last night
- Manslaughter investigation now underway, according to town's prosecutor
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 go wrong at the parade ground in Cholet, north-western France, with flames sparked on the grass and crowds running away.
even more were injured. One person was hospitalized with burns.
The siblings, who have not yet been identified, were standing around fifty yards from the firework launchpad, according to Cholet prosecutor Éric Bouillard.
he fireworks display was proceeding as normal until one rocket appeared to go into the crowd (left). Right: a small boy was filmed racing an empty pushchair away from the scene
Flames on the parade ground could be seen in the distance immediately after the blast
He announced a manslaughter investigation had been opened.
Mr Bouillard described the tragedy as a 'shooting incident', suggesting the fireworks had hit spectators.
He added that it is 'far too early' to speculate about the causes of the disaster.
Around 70 firefighters in 15 vehicles were swiftly dispatched to the scene, according to Cholet mayor Gilles Bourdouleix.
Mr Bourdouleix said it is the first time there has been a malfunction at the town's fireworks display.
Laurent Picard, who took two daughters aged eight and 13 to the show, said he was meters
away from the launch pad when it appeared to exploded.
He told BFMTV: 'I was 5/6 meters from the explosion with my two daughters. Sparks hit me and felt the heat of the blast.
'Fortunately, where I was placed I served as a shield for my daughters in a way.'
Mr Picard said he saw a woman receiving urgent CPR from paramedics and another person lying on the ground in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.