Japan Fireworks Festival Ends in Chaos

A fireworks display at a festival in Japan was halted early after fireworks hit two of the eight launch barges packed with fireworks. Organizers of the Yokohoma festival say a launch system malfunction caused pyrotechnics to land on the barges Monday night, causing fires that set off more fireworks, the BBC reports. Five workers from one barge jumped in the sea and one was slightly injured, reports NHK. There were no workers on the other barge at the time.

Organizers had planned to launch 20,000 fireworks over a 25-minute period but the event was stopped halfway through, the Japan Times reports. The Japan Coast Guard confirmed the fires were extinguished 15 hours after they broke out.