Fireworks market blast kills at least 29 in Mexico

Associated Press

TULTEPEC, Mexico

A powerful chain-reaction explosion ripped through Mexico’s best-known fireworks market on the northern outskirts of the capital Tuesday, killing at least 29 people, injuring scores more and sending a huge plume of charcoal-gray smoke billowing into the sky.

The blast leveled the open-air San Pablito Market in Tultepec in the middle of the afternoon as it bustled with shoppers stocking up on fireworks to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s, reducing vendors’ stands to piles of rubble, ash and charred metal. It was the third devastating explosion and fire to ravage the market since 2005.

Crescencia Francisco Garcia said she was in the middle of the grid of stalls along with a few hundred others when the thunderous explosions began.

She froze, reflexively looked up at the sky and then took off running through the smoke once she realized everyone was doing so. As she ran she saw people with burns and cuts, and lots of blood.

“Everything was catching fire. Everything was exploding,” Francisco said.

At least 70 injuries were reported. Authorities have not yet said what caused the explosion.

Sirens wailed and a heavy scent of gunpowder lingered in the air well after the explosion at the market, where most of the stalls were destroyed.

The smoking, burned- out shells of vehicles ringed the perimeter, and first- responders and local residents wearing blue masks over their mouths combed through the ash and debris. Firefighters hosed down still-smoldering hotspots.

National Civil Protection Coordinator Luis Felipe Puente told Milenio television that some nearby homes also were damaged. The scene remained dangerous, and he asked people not to come within 3 miles to avoid hampering the emergency response.

Many in Mexico traditionally celebrate holidays – including Christmas and New Year’s – by setting off noisy firecrackers and rockets.