UPDATE (10.10am): Singapore Megan Loy, 21, arrived in Singapore early Tuesday morning and was taken straight to the Singapore General Hospital in an ambulance.
THEY were at the wrong place, at the wrong time. Singaporean Megan Loy, 21, had hoped to celebrate the end of school with close friends by going on a vacation to Taiwan.
But their graduation trip ended in tragedy. A blaze in the middle of a party at the Formosa Fun Coast water park on the outskirts of Taipei injured about 500 participants on Saturday night - including the unfortunate group.
More than 1,000 partygoers were dancing at the annual Color Play Asia festival when the fire started, believed to have been sparked by a sudden explosion of coloured powder thrown on them.
Ms Loy suffered serious burns on up to 50 per cent of her body, and is now in intensive care at the Taipei Medical University Shuang-Ho Hospital.
Her three friends are Samantha Chan, Janice Li and Theresa Yip, all aged 18, which Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily identified as Hong Kong residents.
Singaporean Megan Loy (third from left) with friends (from left) Janice Li, Samantha Chan and Theresa Yip in a photo taken in front of the Taipei 101 skyscraper. Photo: Instagram
It reported that Ms Yip is in intensive care for second-degree burns, while Ms Li and Ms Chan suffered less serious first-degree burns covering up to 50 per cent of their bodies.
Based on information on their Facebook pages, all three are Ms Loy's schoolmates from Dulwich College Shanghai, an international school in the Pudong district of the Chinese city. Ms Loy had listed the three as "family members" on her Facebook page, attesting to the closeness of their friendship.
The four had taken a group photo in front of the Taipei 101 skyscraper, a popular tourist attraction, before attending the ill-fated party on Saturday, the fifth day of their trip.
The Facebook profiles of Ms Loy's parents, Joseph Loy and Wee Ping Lim, indicate that the family resides in Shanghai.
The Straits Times understands that they have arrived in Taipei and are at the hospital with Ms Loy.
Taiwan's Central News Agency said that Ms Loy will be flown back to Singapore early tomorrow. She will then be transferred to Singapore General Hospital.
teezhuo@sph.com.sg
Additional reporting by Janice Tai and Feng Zengkun.
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