N.C. fireworks blast kills two

OCRACOKE, N.C. -- Two workers died after a fireworks truck exploded yesterday morning on a remote North Carolina island.

Three other workers were injured when the truck exploded as the workers prepared for the annual Independence Day fireworks display on Ocracoke Island, according to Hyde County spokeswoman Jamie Tunnell.

The men worked for Melrose South Pyrotechnics near Rock Hill, S.C. The company has sent an official to work with investigators.

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and other federal officials also were coming to the island to investigate.

The explosion was heard across Ocracoke village. Hundreds of tourists and residents streamed down to the south end of the island to see what was going on, dockmaster Robert Raborn said.

Raborn, who was about 200 yards away as workers unloaded the truck, described the explosion as one of the loudest things he has ever heard.

"It was like 40 minutes worth of fireworks going off in four seconds," Raborn said.

The explosion stopped ferries to the island for a few hours, but service was restored around noon yesterday.

By the afternoon, things were returning to normal. But Bob Chestnut, owner of the Ride the Wind surf shop, said the explosion reminded residents of how isolated they are -- hours away from any major city. There is a small health center and a volunteer fire department, but little else. The island is accessible only by water and air.

"How do you get help here? How do you get enough people out to fight something?" Chestnut asked. "That's the thing we're thinking about."