HONOLULU (AP) — A 3-year-old boy died on Monday, the fourth person to succumb to injuries from a massive explosion of fireworks at a home in Honolulu on New Year’s Eve, police said.
The blast also killed three women and injured more than 20 people, many of whom have burns over most of their bodies.
The U.S. military flew six patients to Arizona for treatment on Saturday because Hawaii’s lone burn center doesn’t have enough capacity to care for all the victims.
Hawaii’s leaders have intensified their oft-repeated calls to crack down on the state’s vast illegal fireworks trade with stepped-up enforcement and greater penalties.
Hawaii’s diverse population has long celebrated New Year’s with fireworks but in recent years professional grade aerial explosives have been growing in popularity even though they are illegal for amateurs. Neighborhoods across Oahu light up for hours as residents launch aerial fireworks into the sky from the narrow streets in front of their homes.
Honolulu authorities say a person attending a party lit a bundle of aerial fireworks, which fell on its side and shot explosives into two crates that contained additional aerials. Video of the resulting explosion shows a rapid series of blasts shooting fireworks in the air and around the front of a house.
One of the patients transported to Arizona has burns over 72% of his body, while another man and his girlfriend have burns over about two-thirds of their bodies, according to GoFundMe fundraisers posted to help pay for their medical care.
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