A storage facility containing fireworks exploded in a Honolulu suburb Friday, killing five workers, four on the scene and a fifth who was taken to a burn center, fire officials told local media on Saturday.
A sixth person who was also working in the area received minor injuries, according to Honolulu's KITV.
On Friday night, authorities said two victims had died, and two men were missing after the blast, which scorched trees and bushes 40 feet away. Explosions continued hours after the initial one; rescuers waited Saturday morning for the charred storage bunker to cool down so they could reach the two who were missing.
Police sent robots into the bunker to get a view from inside, and they helped rescuers determine the bunker was still too hot to enter Friday night, Seelig said.
"There isn't anything we can do but let it cool off," Honolulu Fire Capt. Terry Seelig said Friday night.
The fifth victim was taken to Straub Hospital, and later died there.
The blast was reported at the Waikele Business Center on Oahu at about 9 a.m. All the men were employees of Donaldson Enterprises, an environmental services and unexploded ordnance disposal company, said Peter Savio, who handles the leases for the facility. The company released a statement late Friday, expressing "deepest sympathies and condolences" to the family and friends of victims, who the Donaldson family called "exceptional men," reported KITV.
The storage facility was authorized by the fire department to hold fireworks.
Seelig said there was no danger to the surrounding residential neighborhood.
The bunker is about 1½ to 2 miles from the business center's entrance. Karen Pacleb, whose backyard faces the entrance, said she didn't hear an explosion but smelled the smoke.
Students and staff at the nearby Waikele Elementary said they didn't hear any explosions.