3 Women Dead, Several Sustain 'Warzone Injuries' In Fireworks Accident In Hawaii

Hawaii Governor Josh Green is looking into whether new penalties including a felony charge for possessing large fireworks are needed to curtail fireworks in Hawaii.

More than 20 were severely injured.

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Three women were killed and more than 20 were severely injured after a large New Year’s firework tipped over after being lit and ignited a fiery, shrapnel-studded blast. While two of the women died at the scene, the third woman died at the hospital.

Fireworks explosion in Hawaii, Honolulu area kills 3, injures at least 20.

The explosion occurred at a house 3 miles west of Fort Shafter, the headquarters of U.S. Army Pacific. #Honolulu #Hawaii #HawaiiExplosion #HonoluluExplosion pic.twitter.com/PrVaz0sNL5

— know the Unknown (@imurpartha) January 2, 2025

On Wednesday, authorities urged the public to forego their New Year’s tradition of setting off fireworks across the city and pledged stricter penalties for those caught using illegal fireworks. According to the Associated Press (AP),  Hawaii Governor Josh Green emphasised the potential dangers of fireworks and added that “war-zone injuries” took their lives.

Green said he was looking into whether new penalties including a felony charge for possessing large fireworks are needed to curtail fireworks in Hawaii.

Around 20 hospitals had severe burn and shrapnel wounds which included children, though authorities haven’t yet identified any of the victims.

Honolulu Police Chief Arthur Logan stated that police were investigating whether charges should be brought against the individual who lit the fireworks near midnight. The blast happened at a three-story home with a bottom-level carport, as per AP. On Wednesday morning, piles of debris including bundles of blackened firework mortars could be seen in front of the daylight.

The explosion shattered windows across the street and occurred when a lit bundle of aerial, mortar-style fireworks known as a "cake" tipped over or fell off a table, firing sideways into crates of additional fireworks, which then exploded. The "cake," comprising 50 rounds, had been lit as a single bundle and was part of what officials estimated to be tens of thousands of dollars worth of fireworks stored at the residence.

Ambulance crews who arrived at the scene had to separate and treat victims with the worst injuries first because the of he parked cars and crowd gathered on the street. Some people nearby continued setting off fireworks even as blast victims were being taken to hospitals, as per AP.

The neighbourhood is near Honolulu’s international airport and a joint US Air Force and Navy base and a little more than 3.22 kilometres east of the USS Arizona Memorial, which honours sailors who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor that drew the US into World War II.