Santo Antonio de Jesus -- Brazil.
Explosion killed 17 Injures 45,

-- A crowd watches as a man looks over burned bodies after an explosion destroyed an illegal fireworks factory in Santo Antonio de Jesus, about 1,050 miles northeast of Rio de Janeiro,  Brazil, Friday, Dec. 11, 1998.   The explosion killed 17 people and injured 45, according to police. The cause of the explosion was unclear, but it appears to have been an accident, police said.

-- An explosion destroyed an illegal fireworks factory in northeastern Brazil on Friday, killing 19 people and injuring 60.   ``There were a lot of people, many of them women, working in the building when the explosion happened.''    ``It seems like they had been working flat-out because there is a big demand for fireworks at this time of year with New Year's Eve coming up shortly.''    The explosion happened at 11:30 a.m. on the outskirts of Santo Antonio de Jesus.   Nine of the dead were children who had been working in the factory.    The cause of the explosion was unclear, but it appears to have been an accident.  It happened in a house that was being used as a factory.  The blast also badly damaged three nearby houses.   Firefighters continued to search for people in the burned remains of the factory.