Rescuers find gruesome scene at a Honolulu home after a fireworks blast kills 3, injures over 20

Emergency crews arrived to a chaotic and gruesome scene in a Honolulu neighborhood after a large New Year's firework tipped over after being lit and ignited a fiery, shrapnel-studded blast that killed three people and injured more than 20 others, several of them critically.

Two women died at the scene and a third woman died at a hospital, authorities said Wednesday as they implored people to abandon their New Year's tradition of setting off fireworks across the city. Officials promised tougher penalties for illegal fireworks.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green graphically described the deaths in a news conference Wednesday to emphasize the potential danger of fireworks. “We’re talking about the worst possible, war-zone injuries that took their lives.”

Some of the more than 20 people taken to hospitals with severe burns and shrapnel wounds included children, said officials who had not yet publicly identified any victims including those killed.

Police were investigating whether charges for the person who lit the firework near midnight were warranted, Honolulu Police Chief Arthur Logan said.

The blast happened at a three-story home with a bottom-level carport. Piles of debris including bundles of blackened firework mortars could be seen in front of the house in Wednesday's daylight.

The explosion broke windows across the street. It happened when a lit bundle of aerial, mortar-style fireworks called a “cake” tipped over or fell off a table and fired sideways into crates containing additional fireworks, which then exploded.

The cake's rounds could be separated but had been lit as a bundle of 50, part of what officials said was tens of thousands of dollars' worth of fireworks at the home.

Ambulance crews arrived but had to triage — separate and treat victims with the worst injuries first — several houses away because of parked cars and crowds on the streets, Honolulu Emergency Services Department Director Dr. Jim Ireland said.

Some people nearby continued setting off fireworks even as blast victims were being taken to hospitals, officials said.

The neighborhood is near Honolulu's international airport and a joint U.S. Air Force and Navy base and a little more than 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) east of the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, which honors sailors who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor that drew the U.S. into World War II.

“I’ve been in EMS over 30 years and this is probably one of the worst calls I’ve ever been on as far as the immense tragedy and amount of patients and severity of the injuries,” Ireland said in an earlier news conference.

A fourth person was killed in a different fireworks explosion elsewhere on Oahu, officials said. At least four other serious injuries occurred in unrelated fireworks accidents overnight.

Social media posts overnight showed fireworks being set off across wide areas of Honolulu even though sparklers, fountains and aerial fireworks are illegal and a permit is required to set off firecrackers, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.

“We’re angry, frustrated and deeply saddened at this unnecessary loss of life and suffering. It’s a tragic way to start the new year,” Mayor Rick Blangiardi said. “No one should have to endure such pain due to a reckless and illegal activity.”

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

Gruver reported from Cheyenne, Wyoming. John Hanna contributed to this report from Topeka, Kansas.

A woman walks in front of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A woman sweeps debris from a driveway across the street from the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Fireworks debris is seen outside the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Evelyn Paguirigan points to broken windows at her home across the street from where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people in Honolulu, on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

A view of the home where a New Year's Eve fireworks explosion killed and injured people, Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

NEW YORK (AP) — Joel Embiid was sidelined for Game 2 of the Philadelphia 76ers' second-round series against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night with a sprained right ankle and a sore right hip.

The 76ers had listed their center as probable to play, mentioning only the ankle, before adding the hip problem on the injury report and ruling him out about six hours before trying to even the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Coach Nick Nurse said Embiid woke up with soreness and was treated during the 76ers' morning shootaround. The team's medical staff determined afterward that Embiid would be unable to play.

“He’s really disappointed. He really wants to be out there,” Nurse said, adding that Adem Bona and Andre Drummond would likely share Embiid's minutes.

Embiid struggled through a short night in the Knicks' 137-98 romp in Game 1, scoring 14 points on 3-for-11 shooting in 25 minutes before the starters were benched with the game out of reach.

Embiid had been listed as probable to play in that game with a bruised right hip before being cleared, and the Knicks repeatedly took advantage of his lack of mobility to create open shots.

Embiid returned from a late-season appendectomy during Game 4 of Philadelphia's first-round series against Boston and helped the 76ers overcome a 3-1 deficit to win the series. He has averaged 25.2 points in five games thus far.

It's unclear whether the pain around Embiid's hip is replated to the appendectomy. He winced and grabbed his abdomen at one point in Game 1 after Knicks guard Mikal Bridges collided with him on a screen in the first half.

Embiid later said he felt the contact was unnecessary.

“Obviously based on what’s been going on, I guess I’ve got to protect it more,” Embiid said. “I don’t know if it was dirty or not, so I guess I’ve got to do a better job of protecting, especially that part.”

The Sixers won't have Embiid to match up with Knicks All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns, and they'll likely need much more from Tyrese Maxey. The speedy point guard also struggled through Game 1, going 3 for 9 for 13 points after averaging 26.9 in the first round.

The 76ers, however, are used to playing without Embiid. It has been years since the former MVP has truly been healthy.

“I said this before, but coming back from that appendectomy so quick was not easy for him to do,” Nurse said. “He’s worked extremely hard to get back and he continues to want to play badly and I feel really bad for him, because he really wants to be out there and we want him out there.”

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Philadelphia 76ers' Joel Embiid reacts during the first half of Game 1 in a second-round NBA basketball playoffs series against the New York Knicks Monday, May 4, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)