At least three people were killed and 20 injured in a fireworks explosion in a neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii, local authorities reported, quoted by the Associated Press and BTA.
The incident occurred shortly before midnight on New Year's Eve in front of a three-story house with a garage, the Honolulu Fire Department said in a statement.
Two women died at the scene and a third died in hospital, authorities said, urging people to abandon their New Year's Eve tradition of setting off fireworks in the city. Officials have promised tougher penalties for illegal fireworks.
Hawaii Governor Josh Greene gave a graphic account of the deaths at a news conference today to underscore the potential danger of fireworks. "We're talking about the worst possible injuries, like those in a war zone that took their lives," he said.
More than 20 people taken to hospitals with severe burns and shrapnel wounds included children, officials said, who have not yet publicly identified the injured or dead.
Police are investigating whether charges against the person who set off the fireworks around midnight are warranted, Honolulu Police Chief Arthur Logan said.
The explosion shattered windows in buildings across the street. It happened when a lit bundle of mortar-type fireworks, called a "cake," tipped over or fell off a table, shooting sideways into crates containing additional fireworks, which then exploded.
The fireworks in front of the building were worth tens of thousands of dollars, according to officials, the AP reported.