The Shanghai Oriental Sports Center announced its withdrawal from this year's Color Run in the city following Saturday's fatal fire at the Formosa Fun Coast Water Park in Taiwan. Officials of the sports center cited safety concerns for backing out of the annual event.

In 2014, the venue hosted the 5k run in partnership with the international event management company IMG. More than 5,000 people participated and dusted each other with colorful powders, similar to the ones that reportedly caused the infernal tragedy at the water park, Shanghaiist cited.

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IMG Beijing official Wang Yang noted that the company has organized more than 100 Color Runs around the world, and not one accident was encountered. He also expressed hope that the event will push through in Shanghai, citing a successful run last year. According to ECNS, IMG has already sought the local government's permission to hold the event in another venue.

The sports center's deputy director stated that they were already aware of the risks prior to the Color Run in 2014. He said that consultation with several experts concluded that such blast was likely to happen.

Meanwhile, the IMG official stated that, based on the video of the blast, a machine was used to shower the participants with powder in high-density. This, he noted, is "totally different" from what they do at their Color Run events.

In a statement in Shanghai Daily, Wang assured the safety of the runners. Aside from making sure that throwing of powder is done only in open and spacious areas, the organizers also use powder that is made of only cornstarch and food coloring. He also remarked that while the product is imported from India, it "meets all of [sic] Chinese quality standards."

Two Color Runs in Shenzen and Beijing have already been staged this year, while two more in Chongqing and Shenyang are in July's lineup.

The explosion in Taipei left 500 people injured and one woman dead. Firefighters point to the colored powder as the cause of massive fire but have yet to finalize the investigation. Taiwan's government has imposed a temporary ban on events that involve the use of colored powders, CNN reported.

TagsShanghai Color Run, Taiwan water park fire, Color Run fire