Tultepec -- Mexico
Fireworks explosion
Area devastated by the blast
-- At
least 10 people are reported to have been killed in a big explosion in Mexico, and
rescuers said they expected to find more bodies as they searched collapsed houses.
The blast occurred at what is thought to have been
an unauthorised fireworks depot at Tultepec, 32 km (20 miles) north of the capital, Mexico
City.
It left a big crater and reduced a two-block area to
rubble. Red Cross workers at the scene told the BBC that more than 30 people were injured.
Many blocks away, shattered glass still covered the
street and people who live as far as five kilometres (three miles) away reported hearing
the blast.
Rescue workers expect to find more bodies
Some residents, apparently fearful that the
explosion would lead to a crackdown on illegal fireworks, blocked journalists trying to
enter the affected area. They said a minor gas explosion had occurred and that there was
nothing to see.
Gen. Francisco Fernandez Solis, general director of
public safety, has reportedly confirmed that the explosion was of gunpowder.
"The explosion was started by a gas tank leak,
which spread and caused an explosion in products used to make fireworks," he was
quoted as saying.
Red Cross workers said police were working on the
possibility of human error. Television footage showed piles of unprotected gunpowder on
ground close to the scene.
Tultepec is known for its fireworks, and many
residents produce them illegally in their homes.
Tultepec -- Mexico
-- An
explosion set off a pile of gunpowder used to make illegal fireworks Tuesday, obliterating
a two-block area of this central Mexican town, killing at least 10 people and wounding
dozens.
Rescuers said they expected to find more bodies as
they picked through the collapsed houses in a town 20 miles north of Mexico City known for
its homemade fireworks. The smell of gunpowder was strong, and television images
taken from a helicopter showed a two-block section of town entirely leveled by the blast.
Many blocks away, shattered glass still covered the street and people who
live as far as three miles away reported hearing the blast. A crater indicated the
site of the explosion.
``It was like a bomb,'' said a local businessman who
lives six blocks away. Dozens of soldiers filed through the area,
assault rifles drawn. Neighbors, firefighters and paramedics picked through collapsed
houses, looking for survivors and bodies. At least 10 people died ---including
a 10-year-old boy -- and 27 were hurt. But a paramedic at the scene, who spoke on
customary condition of anonymity, said he had counted 14 bodies, and that at least 45
people were injured. An official gave the death toll at 10 but said:
``we expect to find more when we clear the rubble.'' He confirmed that
the explosion was of gunpowder. ``The explosion was started by a gas
tank leak,'' he said. The tank exploded and set off a large pile of gunpowder.
Many residents produce fireworks illegally in their
homes. Residents said the explosion occurred in the main gunpowder stockpile for all
of the fireworks factories in the area. In June 1997, an explosion in a home
producing illegal fireworks killed three people. And in December 1988, a Mexico City
marketplace where illegal fireworks were sold exploded and set off a string of fires,
killing 62 people.
