N.C. fireworks blast claims 4th life

OCRACOKE ISLAND, N.C., July 5 (UPI) -- The detonation of a truckload of Fourth of July fireworks in North Carolina claimed a fourth life Sunday, authorities said.

The pyrotechnic worker died at Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville, The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported. Three co-workers died of injuries received in the Saturday blast on Ocracoke Island.

The victims' names hadn't been released.

People on Ocracoke Island held a memorial parade Sunday afternoon to honor the victims as investigators worked to determine what caused the deadly dockside explosion that rattled homes and businesses across the area and sent a large cloud of smoke skyward.

The accident occurred as the workers were setting up the fireworks for a Saturday night show.

"It was hard to comprehend what was happening," said Robert Raborn, the dock master at Anchorage Marina. "You could feel the compression from it going off."