Updated: 6:51 PM EDT Jul 5, 2021
A beloved Fourth of July tradition was foiled Sunday by a fireworks debacle in Ocean City.Fireworks detonated around 10:30 a.m. Sunday on the beach and it was caught on cellphone video. Officially called an "unintentional discharge," the Fire Department said mortars being offloaded from a truck accidentally went off."There were huge explosions all around the truck and about the truck. It looks like a truck that delivers the fireworks to the displays later," a witness said.Beachgoers watched as the town's twin, professional fireworks shows went up in smoke on the sand."Immediately, the police were on the scene, the boardwalk folks, they were trying to clear the boardwalk. And while we were still standing there, an ambulance was coming up, and then, of course, the fire engines were right behind them. We did hear the fire engines coming in the distance," another witness said.The cause of the accident remained unclear Monday morning and the the scene remained cordoned off as the investigation got underway. The Ocean City Fire Department's bomb squad, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office were all on the ground.As parts of the boardwalk remained closed to pedestrian traffic for safety inspections that officials said could take several days.Though the Ocean City Fire Department said some workers suffered minor injuries, those people declined to go to the hospital for treatment. No one on the beach or on the boardwalk were injured.