7-year-old boy and his 24-year-old sister die during fireworks at France party

A 7-year-old boy and his 24-year-old sister died during the explosion of fireworks on the national holiday of July 14 in Cholet, in western France, in circumstances that are still being investigated, the Prosecutor’s Office reported this Friday.

The investigation, opened by involuntary manslaughter, will determine how the accident occurred around 11:00 p.m. near the Cholet stadium, said Angers prosecutor Eric Bouillard, contacted by AFP on Thursday night.

The boy and his sister attended the fireworks display with other members of their family and they were “about fifty meters from the firing point” of the rockets. Seven people were injured, according to the latest balance from the authorities.

The prosecutor assured that it is “too early” to talk about the circumstances of the event.

Laurent Picard, who attended the show with two daughters, posted a video on Facebook in which what appears to be a rocket explosion is seen among a small huddled crowd behind a fence, then screams and people running in all directions.

Despite the incident, the fireworks were held until the end and, according to him, the crowd dispersed. According to the Courrier de l’Ouest newspaper, some 70 firefighters were dispatched to the scene.