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Huge Explosion at Mexico City Fireworks Market Kills at Least 27

Huge Explosion at Mexico City Fireworks Market Kills at Least 27
folder_openLatin America access_time7 years ago
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Local Editor

A huge explosion has ripped through Mexico's best-known fireworks market, reportedly killing at least 27 people and injuring more than 70.

Huge Explosion at Mexico City Fireworks Market Kills at Least 27

Video uploaded to social media showed fireworks exploding as a massive plume of smoke billowed into the sky above the open-air San Pablito Market in Tultepec, north of Mexico City.

Drone footage shared in the aftermath of the explosion showed smoke rising from scorched firework stalls.

At least 10 people were killed in the blast, a government official told Reuters, declining to give his name as the death toll is still preliminary.

Luis Felipe Puente, head of national emergency services, said at least 70 were injured and the number could rise.

He also said some nearby homes had also been damaged.

Puente urged people not to come within three miles [five kilometers] to avoid danger.

He said there was no choice but to let any unexploded fireworks burn off.

The Mexican Red Cross said it sent 10 ambulances with 50 paramedics to the market, where emergency crews attended to victims and hosed down smoldering hotspots as fireworks continued to pop off.

In 2005, a fire engulfed the same market, setting off a chain of explosions that levelled hundreds of stalls just ahead of Mexico's Independence Day.

A similar fire at the San Pablito Market also destroyed hundreds of stands in September 2006.
Many in Mexico traditionally celebrate holidays - including Christmas and New Year's - by setting off noisy firecrackers and rockets.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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