At least 27 people were injured when a firework veered into a large crowd on a beach near Benidorm during a sea-based display. Fourteen people were rushed to hospital, with eleven treated at the Burns Unit of the General University Hospital of Alicante, while another 13 were treated at the Altea health centre.
Panic on the Beach
One witness described the scene: "What was supposed to be a night of partying ended in moments of real panic. The fires went straight to the area where we were on the beach and people started running."
Videos posted online show the "peacock" rockets exploding over the sea as one veers out of control and lands into the shocked crowd, causing panic and mass burns. A large white cloud of smoke is clearly visible.
Festival Anniversary
The firework display was a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Castell de l'Olla de Altea, held in the early hours of Sunday and watched by around 100,000 people.
Organisers, the Brotherhood of Castell de l'Olla, said emergency, health and security services rushed to the scene to evacuate those affected.
More details are yet to be released. The Castell de l'Olla is a prestigious pyrotechnic festival held annually in Altea (Alicante), unique in that fireworks are fired entirely from the sea using floating platforms and barges.
