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19 Killed in Mexico Fireworks Explosion

by VOA News

   Several first responders were among 19 people killed in a series of
   explosions at fireworks workshops in a town just north of Mexico City.

   Mexican authorities said four firefighters and two police officers who
   rushed to the scene Thursday after the first explosion were killed in a
   second blast.

   Four buildings were destroyed in the blasts that also injured 40 others
   in the town of Tultepec.

   The head of Mexico's civil defense agency, Luis Felipe Puente, said the
   explosions began at an unauthorized workshop and spread as flammable
   material shot into the air, resulting in four separate explosions.

   "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.

   Video shot at the scene showed a plume of smoke over Tultepec and
   scores of firefighters and rescue workers at the scene.

   Tultepec is known for its fireworks production and for frequent blasts.

   Seven people were killed there in a similar explosion less than a month
   ago.