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| Mexico: 19 killed and dozens injured in fireworks explosions | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Nineteen people have been killed and at least 40 injured in a string of explosions that ripped through fireworks workshops just north of Mexico City, in the latest in a series of deadly blasts to hit the area. | |
| The dead included four firefighters and two police officers who rushed to the scene after the first explosion, only to be killed by the second blast. | The dead included four firefighters and two police officers who rushed to the scene after the first explosion, only to be killed by the second blast. |
| Video shot from a nearby highway showed a massive plume of smoke rising up from the area of the explosions in the town of Tultepec. Other images released by local media showed wrecked buildings and scorched ground in a rural patch of modest homes and small farm plots. Authorities said four small buildings were destroyed. | |
| Helicopters took the wounded to several local hospitals, and more than 300 police were dispatched to the scene. | |
| Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico’s civil defense agency, said there were four blasts in total and the explosions started at an unauthorized, clandestine workshop and spread as flammable material shot into the air. He said the dead also apparently included one minor and a civil defense worker. | |
| “The problem was that after the first explosion, people went running to help, and when the second explosion occurred, these people who ran to help were killed,” Puente told the Milenio news network. | |
| Many residents in the town of Tultepec make a living by fabricating and selling homemade fireworks, and explosions are a regular occurrence. | Many residents in the town of Tultepec make a living by fabricating and selling homemade fireworks, and explosions are a regular occurrence. |
| But authorities have been unable to enforce safety regulations and registration requirements. | |
| “We cannot continue to allow this kind of situation,” Puente said. | |
| In June, seven people were killed and eight injured in a blast in the town. | In June, seven people were killed and eight injured in a blast in the town. |
| At least 31 people were killed in December 2016, when a massive fire set off a chain reaction at an open-air fireworks market in the town. | At least 31 people were killed in December 2016, when a massive fire set off a chain reaction at an open-air fireworks market in the town. |
| Safety measures at fireworks workshops and markets have been a matter of constant debate in Mexico. While regulations exist on the books, many continue making powerful firecrackers and bottle rockets and sell them to the public. | Safety measures at fireworks workshops and markets have been a matter of constant debate in Mexico. While regulations exist on the books, many continue making powerful firecrackers and bottle rockets and sell them to the public. |
| Mexico | Mexico |
| Americas | Americas |
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