Florida death is 12th in US due to exploding Takata air bags

An 81-year-old man from Hialeah, Florida, near Miami is the 12th person known to have died in the U.S. due to malfunctioning Takata air bag inflators. Ramon V. Kuffo was working on the interior of a 2001 Honda Accord with a hammer when the air bags deployed and the driver's inflator ruptured. His death was revealed on Monday. On Tuesday, Takata added 2.7 million vehicles to the long list of recalls due to the problem. Nineteen auto and truck makers are recalling about 70 million inflators in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide because they can explode with too much force and hurl shrapnel at drivers and passengers. The deaths have occurred since May of 2009:

— May 27, 2009: Ashley Parham, 18, of Midwest City, Oklahoma, 2001 Honda Accord

— Dec. 24, 2009: Gurjit Rathore, 33, of Richmond, Virginia, 2001 Honda Accord

— Sept. 13, 2013: Hai Ming Xu, of Alhambra, California, 2002 Acura TL

— July 27, 2014: Law Suk Leh of Sibu, Malaysia, 2003 Honda City

— Sept. 7, 2014: Jewel Brangman, 26, of California, 2001 Honda Civic

— Sept. 29, 2014: Hien Thi Tran, 51, of Orlando, Florida, 2001 Honda Accord

— Jan. 18, 2015: Carlos Solis, 35, of Spring, Texas, 2002 Honda Accord

— April 15, 2015: Kylan Langlinais, 23, of Lafayette, Louisiana, 2005 Honda Accord

— July 22, 2015: Unidentified 13-year-old boy, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, 2001 Honda Accord

— Dec. 22, 2015: Joel Knight, 52, of Kershaw, South Carolina, 2006 Ford Ranger

— March 31, 2016: Huma Hanif, 17, of Fort Bend County, Texas, 2002 Honda Civic

— April 16, 2016: Unidentified person, Sabah State, Malaysia, 2006 Honda City. Inflator ruptured, no death cause determined.

— May 1, 2016: Unidentified person, Malaysia, 2003 Honda City. Inflator ruptured, no death cause determined.

— June, 2016: Unidentified person in Malaysia. Inflator ruptured, no death cause determined.

—June 19, 2016: Ramon Kuffo, 81, Hialeah, Florida. Inflator ruptured while he was repairing interior of car.

— September 24, 2016: Unidentified driver, Johor State, Malaysia, 2009 Honda City. Inflator ruptured, no death cause determined.

— Sept. 30, 2016: Delia Robles, 50, of Corona, California, 2001 Honda Civic

Sources: Associated Press archives, Center for Auto Safety, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Honda Motor Co., legal documents and police reports