Fireworks Barge Explodes; 10 Jump Overboard
A barge off the Cape Cod coast where workers were launching fireworks exploded Friday night, forcing 10 workers to jump overboard to escape the flames.
“You just saw an intense orange going to white fire that engulfed the entire barge,” said Cliff Brennan, a reporter with WCIB in Falmouth who witnessed the explosion.
All 10 workers were taken to local hospitals after the 9:30 p.m. explosion in Vineyard Sound, where 30,000 people watched from shore. The extent of the injuries weren’t known, though officials said they didn’t believe they were serious.
Police boats, the harbor master and a tugboat rescued the workers, said Coast Guard Lt. Shannan Brown.
On Thursday, a misfired shell lit up all the fireworks at a celebration in Alton, Ill., killing one worker and leaving two presumed dead.
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