Source : Al Jazeera
LIUYANG, CHINA Oct 5, 2025 – A spectacular drone and fireworks display meant to celebrate China’s National Day descended into pandemonium on October 2 when technical glitches caused burning embers to plummet from the sky, igniting fires and sending spectators scrambling for safety in Liuyang city, Hunan province.
Videos circulating online, including footage shared by Al Jazeera English, captured the harrowing moments at the event titled “October: The Sound of Blooming Flowers.” The hybrid show, featuring hundreds of drones synchronized with pyrotechnics to form 3D visual spectacles over land and water, suddenly turned nightmarish as malfunctioning drone-launched fireworks misfired. Sparks and flames rained down like fiery hail, setting trees and ground cover ablaze amid the gasps and screams of the crowd.
Eyewitness clips show families in red attire—donning festive outfits for the holiday—fleeing across a grassy area near the Sky Theatre venue, with some tripping over chairs and barriers in the chaos. Firefighters responded swiftly, extinguishing the blazes within minutes, and authorities confirmed no injuries were reported among the thousands in attendance.
Liuyang, a global fireworks hub that produces about 60% of China’s exports and supplies celebrations worldwide, has become a hotspot for innovative drone-integrated displays. China dominates the industry, accounting for 90% of global production. However, this incident highlights growing safety risks in these high-tech spectacles, with experts pointing to factors like unusually dry weather exacerbating the malfunction.
Local officials attributed the mishap to a combination of technical failures in the drone-pyrotechnic system and arid conditions that allowed embers to ignite easily. “The show was designed for awe, not alarm, but we acted immediately to contain the situation,” a city spokesperson said in a statement, vowing a full investigation to prevent future occurrences.