A fireworks explosion in western Michigan killed a woman and left nine others with minor to serious injuries, the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department said.
The explosion occurred Monday, but a department news release did not say whether it occurred during a public event organized for the Fourth of July. Deputies and ambulances responded to Main Street in Park Township shortly after 11 p.m. for a report that a firework exploded injuring multiple people, the statement said.
A 43-year-old woman from the city of Holland died at the scene, the sheriff’s department said. Nine other people were taken to area hospitals.
Several homes and vehicles in the area were also damaged, according to the statement.
The explosion is under investigation.
Park Township has a population of about 18,000. It is on the shore of Lake Michigan, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) southwest of Grand Rapids.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that in 2022, 10,200 people were treated in emergency rooms and 11 deaths were attributed to fireworks. About three-quarters of the injuries occurred in the period around July 4.
In Allegan County, just south of Ottawa County and about 30 minutes earlier, an errant firework exploded in or near a crowd gathered for Allegan’s July 3 Jubilee show. Allegan Police Chief Jay Gibson told WWMT-TV that an errant mortar fired during the show.
There were no immediate reports of injuries. But it was enough to cause a panic.
“It was absolutely terrifying,” Amy Cummings told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. “I woke up and I can still hear the screams of children in fear.”
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