** Update Monday July 6, 1:35 p.m. **
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The South Carolina company that employed four workers who died following an explosion as they unloaded fireworks on North Carolina's Outer Banks had been cited for at
least one previous accident.
A 2001 explosion at Melrose South Pyrotechnics' plant near Rock Hill killed a 24-year-old seasonal employee and injured two workers. In a settlement with the state, the company agreed to pay a reduced fine of $20,750 without acknowledging any wrongdoing.
Two years ago, two employees were hurt during a fireworks show at Fort Stewart, Ga. Officials blamed a malfunctioning firework that detonated prematurely and started a chain reaction.
The company said in a statement Monday that employees are working with federal and local officials to determine what caused
the July 4 accident.
OCRACOKE, N.C. (AP) - Officials say a third worker has died from injuries suffered when a truckload of fireworks exploded on a dock at a remote North Carolina island.
Hyde County spokeswoman Jamie Tunnell says the worker died at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville late Saturday, hours after the explosion shook homes and businesses on the southern end of Ocracoke Island. Two other workers were injured, but their conditions have not been released.
None of the workers has been identified.
The blast happened as the workers unloaded fireworks from a truck in preparation for an Independence Day celebration.
Tunnell says agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on scene Sunday investigating what caused the blast.
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