A FIREWORKS show turned into chaos after a display went horribly wrong, raining fire from the sky and sparking apocalyptic scenes.
The terrifying incident took place at the Sky Theatre in China on October 2, sending panicked crowds fleeing for cover as flames lit up the night.
Attendees could be seen using chairs as umbrellas as they attempted to take cover from the spectacle turned meteor shower.
Videos circulating on social media also revealed that the incident caused small fires to spring up across the surrounding city of Liuyang, located within the Hunan Province.
However, local news sources have reported that these were extinguished within minutes of setting alight.
Officials have also confirmed that no one was injured in the melee.
Authorities set up a mile-long evacuation zone as fire rained down on attendees, while extra firefighters have since been deployed to prevent another disaster.
Nevertheless, the Liuyang Bureau of Culture and Tourism warned that the dry weather could easily have caused the incendiary mishap to spark a larger blaze on the ground.
Social media users were quick to weigh in on the incident, with one commenting: “What a man-made disaster!”
Officials have since confirmed that no one was injured in the melee.
The show, titled “October: The Sound of Blooming Flowers,” aimed to generate a 3D visual effect with the help of drones over land and the nearby water.
Liuyang, known as the “hometown of fireworks”, regularly hosts huge pyrotechnic displays near the city’s river.
In January, China Daily reported that more than 160,000 people travelled to witness their New Year’s celebrations the month prior.
However, for unknown reasons, the performance turned into a terrifying inferno, adding to China’s growing list of combustible controversies.
Back in September, outdoor fashion brand Arc’teryx set off hundreds of small fireworks in the mountainous village of Re Long, Tibet, as part of a collaboration with Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang.
The display placed hundreds of incendiary devices at various points along a 3,000-meter pathway up the Tibetan mountain, creating a snake-like pattern.
The display’s crescendo, “golden dragon” stretched for 2,500 meters.
Live-streamed online, the showcase was quickly clipped and shared across social media channels, gathering some 2 million views on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
However, despite artist Cai’s extensive efforts to make the display friendly, using biodegradable materials and relocating livestock and wildlife before setting it off, his work sparked immediate backlash.
Chinese netizens claimed that the stunt disrespected the sacred mountains surrounding Re Long, dubbed “the hometown of Mt Everest,” with critics labelling the campaign as tone-deaf and arrogant.
The local government were also heavily criticised for letting the display go ahead, with authorities since launching an investigation into the matter.
Following the backlash, Cai’s studio and Arc’teryx both published statements apologising for the event.
While neither of these recent incidents has ended in tragedy, these back-to-back blunders have reignited debate over whether spectacle is really worth the risk.
TWO major US banks will shut down for a full day in a few weeks and consumers are urged to plan ahead.
Bank of America and Wells Fargo are among large financial institutions which will close on Columbus Day on October 13.
Columbus Day is a federal holiday which falls on the second Monday in October each year.
It was created in 1968 to observe the day Christopher Columbus arrived in the US.
That date is also designated as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in some states and cities.
Many government services will close down including state and federal courts, public schools, libraries, post offices and banks.
Federal workers will get a paid day off, and it also means there will be no mail delivery on October 13.
However, some retail stores will stay open such as grocery and liquor shops, but shoppers are urged to check local opening hours.
Wells Fargo and Bank of America will shut all 7,700 locations.
Chase Bank told The U.S. Sun that it will remain open.
Additionally, one of the only major banks to remain open is TD Bank, which is Canadian.
The day is one of 11 official federal holidays marked annually in the States.
According to the holidays 2025 schedule provided by the Federal Reserve Bank System, the next federal holiday is Veterans Day on November 11.
That’s followed by Thanksgiving Day on November 27, and Christmas Day on December 25.
Federal workers will get a paid day off, and it also means there will be no mail delivery on October 13.
WITH bank scams running rampant, it is important to know how to reach out to your bank without risking fraud.
There is of course the foolproof method of going to your bank in person, but you are likely going to be directed to a customer care phone line.
In order to ensure that you are contacting the bank, make sure to use a phone number given to you by the representative or off of the bank’s website.
Some banks also have online helplines that can securely connect you with a representative.
Conversely, if you think the bank is reaching out to you with an account issue – make sure to verify the concern by calling a bank contact that you know is legitimate.
Scammers commonly mascarade as bank representatives to steal information from frightened customers.
Consumers are urged to plan ahead before the banking blackout.
It is best to call ahead to double check your local branch’s opening hours.
You will be able to access your online banking as normal, however there may be delays to processing payments.
It is advised to do any urgent payments in the days leading up to the shut down.
ATMS and cash machines will still be open to withdraw cash, and you can also access cash from some retail stores like CVS and Whole Foods.
AARP advised that digital banking remains open “regardless of what America is celebrating that day.
“You can make routine transactions via your bank’s or credit union’s website or app.
“If you have an online account, you can: check account balances; pay bills; move money between accounts; deposit checks.”
VENEZUELA’S dictator moaned the US wants to boot him out and install a “puppet government” – but vowed he is ready for “armed combat”.
Nicolas Maduro stared down Donald Trump’s declaration of war against the cartels, which the President insists are “poisoning” Americans with fentanyl and other drugs.
Trump has accused tyrannical Maduro of being in bed with the “terrorist” narco-cartels – and he has given himself the right eliminate their members without trial.
Reports say the US is gearing up to seize ports and airfields in Venezuela
Furious Maduro complained on Friday that America is perpetrating “an armed aggression to impose regime change” and to “impose puppet governments”.
He previously said the US has “1,200 missiles pointed at our heads. They have a nuclear submarine.”
“There are eight destroyers in the Caribbean, that’s never been seen before,” he said.
But he yesterday swore Venezuela would rise to Trump’s challenge, and said he is ready to “move from unarmed combat to armed combat” if necessary.
Maduro thundered that any state challenging Venezuela would be “taught a lesson”, no matter how powerful they are.
Finally, he desperately protested his innocence of drugs trafficking, and claimed the US really just wants to steal Venezuela’s oil, gas and gold.
On Friday, President Trump formally declared that the US is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with the Venezuelan “terrorist organisation” cartels.
The move, revealed in a secret memo to Congress, gives Trump sweeping wartime powers to strike, kill and detain cartel fighters without trial.
Just hours after the war cry, the US army blasted another “narco boat” off the coast of Venezuela, killing four people.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the boat was “transporting substantial amounts of narcotics – headed to America to poison our people”.
Trump said: “A boat enough to kill 25 to 50 thousand people was stopped from entering American territory.”
It was the latest in a series of bombings on cartel boats, after three others were similarly destroyed last month.
In a further escalation, Trump won the right at the Supreme Court to strip deportation protections from 300,000 Venezuelans in America – opening the door for his administration to boot them out.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has been building up a force in Puerto Rico with enough firepower to storm Venezuela – and reports suggest an invasion is being planned.
Off Venezuela’s coast sits a formidable armada: Navy warships and a submarine, ten F-35 Lightning II stealth jets, and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit — 2,200 Marines with Harrier jump jets, helicopters and armour.
This give the US planners enough firepower positioned to seize targets if the order is given, according to the Washington Examiner.
Special operations forces have rehearsed parachute and airfield-seizure drills in the Caribbean.
The Pentagon hasn’t confirmed any invasion plans, but the posturing is far from covert.
The US argues that drug traffickers kill tens of thousands of Americans each year.
It insists that Venezuela’s criminal networks – including the notorious Tren de Aragua and the regime-linked Cartel de los Soles – act with state protection.
Trump has personally accused Maduro of “mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror,” slapped a $50 million bounty on his head, and ordered US Southern Command to “take the fight to the narco-terrorists.”
Maduro, who has clung to power for over 12 years through his “transparent elections”, calls it a pretext for regime change.
He claims 2.5million troops are mobilised to resist “threats of bombs, death, and blackmail” and says the US wants Venezuela’s oil.
Last month, US forces carried out three lethal strikes on suspected narco-trafficking boats.
At least 17 people were killed, including 11 on September 2 and three more in a fiery September 15 blast.