SALT LAKE CITY -- Authorities are trying to determine what caused a malfunction that sent fireworks shooting into a crowd of spectators during a holiday celebration in Salt Lake City.
At least 10 people, including some children, were injured during the Pioneer Day fireworks display Saturday night at Herman Franks Park south of downtown, Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Scott Freitag said Sunday.
Freitag said the injuries were mostly minor burns and bruises, but two people were taken to local hospitals. The Salt Lake Tribune reported on its website that one person remained hospitalized Sunday.
"There may have been more that didn't seek treatment," Freitag said.
Investigators said the accident started when one of the fireworks charges exploded before it was shot out of a tube, which was connected to three others. The blast knocked the other three mortar tubes from vertical to horizontal, shooting the fireworks at people about 240 feet away on the edge of the park grounds.
Freitag said investigators and the company that put on the show, which passed an inspection on Thursday and is a longtime provider for the city's fireworks displays, were trying to figure out what caused the initial blast and blew up the first tube.
"The explosion was great enough to break the ties, and the other tubes fell over," Freitag said.
The damage could have been much worse. The park where the fireworks were launched is across the street from Liberty Park, where the annual Days of '47 parade concluded earlier Saturday, and thousands still remained for the fireworks and other festivities.
Pioneer Day is a state holiday commemorating the arrival of Mormon pioneer settlers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847.
Freitag said fireworks crews were able to shut down the computer-controlled display after a few moments.
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