HONOLULU (AP) - Federal prosecutors in Hawaii say a grand jury has indicted two men and a company over their mishandling of seized fireworks that led to a deadly explosion in a bunker last year.
U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni in Hawaii said Friday that 37-year-old Charles Donaldson of Kaneohe, 65-year-old Carlton Finley of Honolulu and Donaldson Enterprise Inc. are accused of treating hazardous wastes without a permit.
The April 2011 blast killed five Donaldson employees in an explosion so ferocious it scorched trees 40 feet away.
The company had a contract to manage and dispose of the commercial grade fireworks. The indictment says employees spend seven months breaking apart fireworks and soaking them in diesel fuel after a temporary emergency permit to handle them as waste expired.
The explosion was ruled accidental.
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