At least 24 dead and 49 injured after explosions in a pyrotechnics workshop in Mexico

A powerful explosion in a pyrotechnics workshop left at least 24 dead and 49 wounded including firefighters and police officers who attended the emergency on Thursday Tultepec a municipality in the center of Mexico dedicated to the manufacture of rockets .

This tragedy reopens the wounds left in the community by the explosion of its main market. pyrotechnics in 2016, when 42 people died.

The bombing of this Thursday occurred in the morning, covering a large white cloud area of ​​green agricultural fields where are the workshops that manufacture the largest fireworks and are exhibited every March at the Tultepec fair in the state of Mexico.

Last Minute | There is a strong explosion at La Saucera #Tultepec in the state of Mexico, at least four dead and six wounded. How long will you put in order in Tultepec corrupted @AlfredoDelMazo ? #GelorrupciónMata pic.twitter.com/Qw2Ul0ps9U

– AntiTelevisaMx (@AntiTelevisaMx) July 5, 2018

"There is a record of 24 people dead, 17 in place of Des facts and seven in hospitals, "including a minor," said a statement from the local prosecutor, who up to now counted 49 wounded who were transferred to various hospitals.

Among the killed there are at least four firefighters and five policemen, said Maribel Cervantes, Secretary of State for Public Security, next to the burned down workshop.

After the "first explosion, the emergency services arrived (…) and that is why the second was recorded.They explode and lose their lives and our colleagues are injured.

The activities in the workshops of the region were suspended following the deployment of hundreds of soldiers and policemen they eminently landed, inside a fence made of yellow ribbons.

From the workshop burned and still smoking red partitions, they still listened to rocket explosions, and on one side two tankers firefighters burns, as well as calcined material projected into the explosion

Dozens of nearby workshops were intact, with huge "no-smoking" legends, in an environment shrouded by the pungent smell of rocket burned

It rained fire

The President Enrique Peñ Nieto regretted the events on Twitter: "I send my condolences to the families of the deceased and I want a speedy recovery for the wounded."

In Tultepec, Alondra Pérez I had lunch when I heard the " terrible thunder.

"We ran and found a huge white cloud in the sky, like when it rains, today it was only raining fire," said the 62-year-old housewife.

Despite the trauma of past explosions, people continue to make their traditional rockets.

"It's a source of work and we eat from there." Says Manuel Guerrero, a retired craftsman aged 63.

"If it's the turn of the wicked, then it is his turn, and we must continue. , having traveled 3 km on his bike to the scene of events.

Complete Review

Just June 6, an explosion caused seven deaths in Tultepec, although the most dramatic occurred on December 20, 2016, when an explosion on the main pyrotechnic market took place. killed 42

Alejandro Ozuna said the authorities would conduct a "thorough review" of all permits to look for any irregularities, since many workshops operate illegally.

"We know that it is a form of life, a tradition, but we must send the message to the community and must understand that it should be regulated, to take care of the physical integrity of themselves, "said the official

. Those who are dedicated to pyrotechnics do not measure the consequences of their work.

"People here insist on continuing to make rockets because that is their tradition, but it gives them courage because their fellow firefighters have nothing to do. Today, they were killed to save these people, "said the police officer on condition of anonymity, for not being allowed to make statements.

After his 14-year-old son had spent hours anxious, Osvaldo Urban, a 43-year-old craftsman who was working beside the blast site, emerged among the cohort of 39, ambulance and firefighters.

"I am very grateful to feel good.I was in my studio when I heard the explosion," he says in a broken voice.

Background

In 1988 a similar incident caused the death of at least 68 people in the La Merced market in Mexico City.

In 1999, 63 people died for the same cause when a detonation affected pyrotechnics illegally warehoused at Celaya.

In 2002, an explosion in a market in the port of Veracruz killed 29 people.

In December 2016 an explosion in a pyrotechnic market caused dozens of deaths.

In June 1945, seven people died and eight were injured in an explosion in Tultepec.

The security measures that markets and fireworks should follow have been the subject of constant debate in the country.

Although there are some regulations, some continue to make firecrackers and other products by selling them to the public.