An explosion in Honolulu caused by illegal aerial fireworks shooting into a crate with more fireworks killed three and critically injured 20, police said.

Honolulu mayor Rick Blangiardi said in a statement that the explosion was "caused by what appears to be illegal fireworks"

At least two people have died and 22 more people have been injured in a fireworks-related incident in Hawaii in the early hours of New Year’s Day.

A New Year's Eve fireworks explosion in a Honolulu -area neighborhood killed at least three people and critically injured at least 20 others, authorities said. "It looked like a war zone," said Honolulu Fire Chief Sheldon K. Hao.

A fireworks-related incident in Hawaii has left two people dead and 22 injured, according to a local news report. The incident took place in Salt Lake-Aliamanu, a neighborhood near Honolulu, and Honolulu Emergency Medical Services have reached the scene, according to Hawaii News Now.

Tuesday night, a lit bundle of mortar-style aerials tipped over and shot into crates of unlit fireworks, causing a rapid-fire series of blasts that killed three women and injured more than 20 people

The state of Hawaii is still in shock over the tragic beginning of the new year, in which dozens of people were injured and at least 3 people were killed in a fireworks explosion in Aliamanu, while another man was killed in Kalihi.