Woman dies in explosion at gender reveal party

Death is latest in string of safety incidents linked to craze

The woman died in rural Iowa, outside Knoxville (Google Street View)

A woman was killed by an explosion during a gender reveal party in Iowa, according to US media reports.

CNN and ABC News both reported local law enforcement as confirming that a 56-year-old woman died after being struck by debris from the blast on Saturday.

She was pronounced dead at the site of the explosion in a rural area outside Knoxville, about 40 miles southeast from the state capital Des Moines.

“The investigation determined that a gender reveal announcement resulted in the explosion, which caused debris to strike the victim,” ABC quoted the Marion County sheriff’s office as saying.

Authorities are yet to release a more comprehensive statement on the incident. The Independent has contacted the sheriff’s office for more information.

Gender reveal parties, in which parents announce to friends and family whether their baby will be a boy or a girl, have become increasingly elaborate.

Initially involving nothing more than coloured icing on a cake, expectant parents have risked life and limb in order to impress.

Last year in Australia, police were forced to issue a safety warning after a man’s car burst into flames during a gender reveal stunt, while in Arizona a border agent managed to start a 47,000-acre wildfire by shooting an explosive target.

The woman credited with inventing the craze has since disowned it, saying: “Who cares what gender the baby is?”