July 4 is Christmas for those who love fireworks. (For others, it’s about watching one-term presidents basically admit to committing crimes.) But for people on the beaches of Ocean City, Maryland, the big event came a bit early. Early in the day, fireworks that were supposed to be used later in the day accidentally exploded, surprising beach dwellers but treating them to something few had ever seen before.
According to WTOP News, the company handling the town’s fireworks display were unloading their wares when one of them was “unintentionally discharged.” Not all of the fireworks went off, but enough of them did that it created rounds of explosions that were caught on video by unsuspecting citizens on the beach.
OCEAN CITY FIREWORKS INCIDENT: This dramatic video on Twitter courtesy of @GinoPambo captured a fireworks incident on the beach in Ocean City on Sunday. One employee from a fireworks company suffered minor injuries: https://t.co/FBWH55guVm pic.twitter.com/ba33yCzCaD
— 7News DC (@7NewsDC) July 4, 2021
So this just happened in Ocean City, MD. pic.twitter.com/B0djA8JxF7
— Gilly Gene (@GillyOfThe412) July 4, 2021
Fireworks in Ocean City, Maryland, exploded prematurely as workers prepared for the show.
Employees of the fireworks company received minor injuries and refused transport to the hospital.pic.twitter.com/NhKxEJk9Wk
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) July 4, 2021
The explosion was such that, as per CNN, first responders initially assumed a car was one fire. There weren’t any injuries involving beachgoers or pedestrians on the town’s boardwalk, but employees of the company responsible for the fireworks did receive minor injuries. However, they refused transport to the hospital.
Ocean City’s fireworks event was supposed to begin around 8pm, with musical acts, ending with the big display at 9:30. But after the freak explosion, they were cancelled out of an abundance of caution. But it’s safe to say that the premature show some got in the morning was more memorable anyway.
You can watch more footage of the explosion in the video above.