Advertisement

Twin blasts at Mexican fireworks factory leave 24 dead

Rescuers pick through the scattered debris of the Mexico fireworks factory, where 24 people lost their lives.

Rescuers pick through the scattered debris of the Mexico fireworks factory, where 24 people lost their lives. Photo: AAP/Emilio Espejel

Two explosions at fireworks workshops outside Mexico City have killed at least 24 people, including rescue workers, and injured dozens more, officials say.

After a first blast in the municipality of Tultepec on Thursday, firefighters, police and other rescue workers arrived at the scene when a second explosion occurred, the state government said in a statement.

“Emergency crews attended the call of the first explosion, when a second incident occurred, killing and injuring members of these groups,” the statement said.

Television images showed a plume of smoke rising over buildings on the outskirts of Tultepec and scores of firefighters and rescue workers at the scene.

The attorney general’s office for the state of Mexico, the country’s most populous state which rings the capital, said that 17 people had died at the blast site and another seven died in hospital.

Another 49 people were injured, the statement added.

A series of blasts have taken occurred at the fireworks markets, workshops and depots in Tultepec, about 32km north of Mexico City, including massive explosions in a market in December 2016 that killed around three dozen people.

Advertisement
Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter.
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.