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Mexico: 19 killed and dozens injured in fireworks explosions Mexico: 19 killed and dozens injured in fireworks explosions
(about 2 hours 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. 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 – 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. Video of Thursday’s disaster showed an immense plume of smoke rising above 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.
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. Officials said that four explosions ripped through the area after fire broke out at a clandestine worshop.
Helicopters took the wounded to several local hospitals, and more than 300 police were dispatched to the scene. “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,” Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico’s civil defense agency, told the Milenio news network.
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 tragedy comes 18 months after a chain reaction of explosions tore through the San Pablito fireworks market in Tultepec at the height of the busy Christmas season, killing 42 people.
“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. The 2016 blast marked third time in a decade the site had exploded, even though it was supposedly constructed to avoid just such a calamity.
Many residents in the town of Tultepec make a living by fabricating and selling homemade fireworks, and explosions are a regular occurrence. Mexicans were quick to express anger of officials apparent inability to prevent repeated disasters at the same site.
But authorities have been unable to enforce safety regulations and registration requirements. “Guess what happened in Tultepec (again) …” the Reforma newspaper’s city section tweeted.
“We cannot continue to allow this kind of situation,” Puente said. In a second tweet, the newspaper said: “Barely 11 days ago, an explosion in Tultepec left one dead and six injured; 18 days ago, another [explosion] caused seven deaths … Explosions and tragedies in Tultepec repeat themselves constantly.”
In June, seven people were killed and eight injured in a blast in the town. The people in Tultepec express pride in their pyrotechnics industry, despite the risks. Barely three months after the 2016 San Pablito explosion the town paid tribute to those who died in the accident with a massive fireworks display.
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. “It’s a high-risk activity and there are a lot of people that depend on it,” said Juan Guerrero, a Tultepec government spokesman. He estimated the fireworks business – which supplies the country and attracts hoards of buyers over the independence and Christmas holidays – supports 30,000 jobs.
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. “It’s generational. There are some people who are third-generation working in it and obviously it’s a good source of work,” he said. “The earnings are good, but it’s high-risk.”
Critics accuse politicians of refusing to crack down on the industry in order to win elections, even going so far as to promise support for those in the fireworks trade.
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