$1.5 million settlement proposed in 2011 fireworks blast at Oahu storage bunker that killed 5

A company sued by the families of five workers killed when seized fireworks exploded in an Oahu storage bunker in 2011 has proposed a $1.5 million settlement.

Ford Island Ventures is one of eight companies sued for the explosion at a storage facility in Waikele. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports (http://bit.ly/ZYbzwn ) a federal court hearing on the proposed settlement is scheduled for Oct. 30.

Five employees of Donaldson Enterprises died April 18, 2011, at a storage bunker the company rented. The company had a contract with a federal agency to destroy confiscated, illegal fireworks.

Ford Island Ventures holds the master lease to the former munitions bunker complex owned by the Navy.

Ford Island asked the court to approve the good-faith settlement that would not undermine positions of other defendants.

Two Donaldson officials also face criminal charges.

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Information from: Honolulu Star-Advertiser, http://www.staradvertiser.com