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Nine killed in large Mexico fireworks blast | |
(35 minutes later) | |
An explosion at a fireworks market outside Mexico City has killed at least nine people, police say. | |
Up to 70 others were injured as the blast hit the San Pablito fireworks market, about 20 miles (32km) outside the city. | |
Video from the scene showed a large number of fireworks rocketing into the air as they caught fire. | |
Unconfirmed reports suggest a higher death toll. The Mexico State Red Cross said 25 ambulances had been dispatched. | |
Locals have been told to avoid the area and keep roads clear. | |
State governor Eruviel Avila said the top priority was to care for the injured, and officials had been dispatched to the scene. | State governor Eruviel Avila said the top priority was to care for the injured, and officials had been dispatched to the scene. |
Fireworks continued to explode after the initial blast, as smoke billowed from the area in thick black clouds. | |
Photos from police and medical personnel at the scene showed several injured people among the destroyed market stalls, with brick buildings scorched by the heat. | |
"The sound of blasts started to go off and we thought it was a nearby fireworks workshop," local resident Alejandra Pretel told the AFP news agency. | |
However, she said it soon became clear the entire market was at risk. | |
"My neighbours said they felt everything shake, but I didn't realise because I was running away," she said. | |
The president of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, tweeted condolences to the families of those who lost their lives, and wished a speedy recovery to the injured. | |
He also said members of the defence forces were assisting in the emergency. | |
The San Pablito market was heavily damaged by similar fires in September 2005, when a chain of explosions just before the country's independence day celebrations injured dozens of people. |