Update, Monday July 6: Death toll rises to 4. Scroll down.
TWO PEOPLE ARE DEAD AND THREE MORE ARE IN CRITICAL CONDITION after a large truck carrying commercial fireworks exploded on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. The pyrotechnics were scheduled to be used for a public display tonight in the community’s Independence Day celebration.
photo by Sharon Tugwell
The five people, four men and one woman, were starting to unload the truck when it blew up around 9:15 am this morning. The Virginian-Pilot reports:
The explosion occurred at approximately 9 a.m. in the parking lot of the Ocracoke campus of the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching, near the island’s South Ferry Terminal. Officials aren’t sure what caused the load to ignite, said Hyde County Manager Carl Classen.
Virginian-Pilot photos
Rachel O’Neal, who was working at the South Ferry Terminal’s ticket booth Saturday morning, witnessed the explosion and called 911.
She said the fireworks crew was opening the door to the truck when the blast happened. There were two loud explosions that shook homes and businesses and could be heard for miles around, witnesses said. It sent debris flying through the parking lot, which sits near the water’s edge.
Anchorage Marina dock master Robert Raborn witnessed the explosion from 200 yards away. He said it looked like 40 minutes worth of fireworks went off in four seconds.
WAVY-TV Ch. 10 Norfolk has this video report:
Not all of the fireworks exploded and the area around the blast scene was isolated until an explosives disposal team could arrive and secure the cargo. Ocracoke Island is in the southern end of the offshore islands known as the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It is accessible only by ferry boat. The year-round population is 800, but in the summer time the visitor population numbers in the thousands.
The four men worked for Melrose South Pyrotechnics of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Assisting the Ocracoke Volunteer Fire Dept. were the Dare County EMS, Hatteras Volunteer Fire Department, Frisco Volunteer Fire Department, Buxton Volunteer Fire Department, and Hatteras Island Rescue Squad.
Read the detailed report in the Virginian-Pilot newspaper HERE.
Update, Monday July 6, 9:00 am:
Hyde County Sheriff’s officials have confirmed that a fourth victim has died in hospital. One victim died at the scene, and a second died at the University of North Carolina’s Jaycee Burn Center at Chapel Hill. One other victim remained at the burn center, and two were taken by helicopter to Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, N.C., where they both died, according to officials.
The Virginian-Pilot is reporting:
The Fourth of July parade scheduled for Saturday was canceled after the explosion, but organizers decided to hold the parade Sunday afternoon in memory of the four workers who died.
The parade included vehicles from the volunteer fire department and National Park Service, and it covered about a mile through the village on Highway 12.
The FBI; ATF; the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; and an Explosive Ordinance Disposal Company are investigating.
The fireworks company, Melrose South Pyrotechnics of Catawba, S.C., said it was sending a company representative to Ocracoke to work with authorities on the investigation.
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