Three people are dead and more than 20 injured after a fireworks accident during New Year's Eve celebrations in Honolulu, Hawaii.
All three died at the illegal fireworks display on Tuesday night during the New Year's Eve celebration that also left several other family members critically injured.
Honolulu residents filmed the explosion as they celebrated on a balcony, unaware of the chaos below.
Their footage showed a sudden series of uncontrolled fireworks explosions going off at ground level in rapid succession.
According to the Daily Mail, locals claimed online that the disaster was sparked by a fireworks 'cake', a cluster of tubes that hold the rockets, falling over from the force of them launching.
That resulted in "fireworks being shot straight into a garage full of friends and families, including children".
The blast happened at a three-story home with a ground-level carport. Piles of debris including bundles of blackened firework mortars could be seen in front of the house on Wednesday morning.
Honolulu police were investigating whether charges for the person who lit the firework near midnight were warranted..
More than two dozen others were severely wounded at another home on the island.
Efforts to crack down on contraband fireworks have had limited effect.
In 2023, lawmakers created an illegal fireworks task force, however the with the amount of fireworks seized, including three shipping containers in its first few months in operation, the state Department of Law Enforcement concluded illegal fireworks are likely smuggled into Hawaii on a daily basis.
IOL News