A barge with fireworks caught fire during the celebration of Switzerland Day in Saint-Pre

The barge, which served as a launching pad for fireworks, caught fire during the celebration of the Swiss National Day in the city of Saint-Preux, located on the shores of Lake Geneva in the canton of Vaud. This was reported on August 1 by the French newspaper 20 Minutes.

"The traditional pyroshow in honor of [Switzerland's] National Day in Saint-Preux has unexpectedly ended. The barge that served as the launch platform caught fire. <...> The fireworks continued to explode under the influence of the fire," the article says.

The reasons for the incident are still unclear, but the celebration itself, as noted in the publication, was initially held in conditions of prolonged drought and a very high risk of fires.

It is specified that in the canton where the incident was recorded, initially there was a temporary ban on the use and sale of pyrotechnics. The measures were taken precisely because of the abnormal heat. The show staged on the lake, according to the newspaper, was arranged as an exception on the occasion of the celebration.

It's stuffy to live: abnormal heat as a new economic norm in Europe

Temperature records on the continent are provoking a sharp increase in costs

Correspondent Jason Natanasiades told Izvestia on the same day that due to the heat wave observed in Europe, fires also engulfed the whole of Greece. According to him, more than 50 fires were detected in the country in just one day. The incident even forced the authorities to evacuate people from some settlements, tourist areas and medical institutions.