Fifth person dies after New Year’s Eve fireworks explosion in Honolulu
The 29-year-old man had been flown to hospital in Arizona following the explosion, which also killed a three-year-old boy and three women.
A fifth person has died from injuries suffered during a massive explosion of illegal fireworks at a Honolulu home on New Year’s Eve, police said on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old man was one of six people flown to a hospital in Arizona for treatment earlier this month because Hawaii’s only burn-care facility hit capacity treating other patients from the same blast.
The explosion also killed a three-year-old boy and three women and injured more than 20 others.
The 29-year-old man died at 6.42am Hawaii time, Honolulu police said.
Illegal fireworks have become increasingly more common in Hawaii in recent years.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green proposed new penalties designed to make it easier for police to enforce laws, including fines of 300 dollars that they could issue to those who shoot off fireworks.
Mr Green has also proposed potential class A felony charges and decades in prison for those whose use of fireworks leads to serious injury or death.
The state department of law enforcement has asked for 5.2 million dollars to hire eight people and expand the forensic lab to counter the rampant smuggling of illegal fireworks.
Politicians were expected to consider these measures during the current legislative session, which ends in May.
The US military, at Mr Green’s request, flew six patients to Phoenix on January 4. All were in their 20s or 30s and had suffered burns that covered 45%-80% of their bodies.
Flying particles and debris from the explosion left some of the patients with wounds resembling battlefield injuries.
