Two people were killed and at least 20 others injured in a fireworks accident during a New Year’s Eve celebration in Hawaii, authorities said.
The incident occurred just before midnight outside a home in a residential neighborhood in Honolulu, the local fire department said. The victims were not immediately identified.
Investigators said they were not sure exactly what went wrong in the deadly explosion. The home did not catch fire, but the Honolulu Fire Department will lead the investigation.
Authorities warn the public every year of the danger of household firework operations around New Year’s Eve and Independence Day. About two hours earlier in Hawaii, a 14-year-old boy was injured when a firework exploded in his hand, local Fox affiliate KHON reported. That mishap occurred in a different Honolulu neighborhood just three miles away from the deadly explosion.
And around the world, five people were killed in fireworks accidents in Germany, where hundreds more were injured.
Fireworks were also used for other purposes in Germany, where they were pointed as weapons at police officers and firefighters at demonstrations in Berlin, authorities said. Around 400 people were arrested in the city, and 30 police officers were injured in the attacks.
Last year also began with a deadly fireworks blast in the U.S., when an 18-year-old man was killed while lighting off fireworks with a group in San Francisco.
With News Wire Services
