A bomb squad truck being used to transfer thousands of pounds of illegal fireworks exploded and was engulfed in smoke and fire in South Los Angeles Wednesday night, injuring at least 16 people and damaging buildings, officials said.
Police said officers from the Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Squad were in the process of seizing the fireworks, some of which were being stored in the bomb squad's trailer, when the explosion occurred. Police are investigating and the cause of the explosion is not yet known.
Videos captured the moment when the bomb squad truck, which was parked on a residential street, erupted in flames.
Police had responded earlier to an anonymous call about fireworks being held at a residential property. When officers arrived, they found more than 5,000 pounds of fireworks in the backyard. The bomb squad was called in to remove the fireworks to a storage location, LAPD said.
They also said there were some "unstable, improvised, explosive-type fireworks" that were "too unstable to move" and would instead be blown up at the scene.
One adult is in custody and facing charges for the fireworks and for child endangerment.