Deadly Mexico fireworks blast hit market packed for holidays
By Christopher Sherman and Peter Orsi, AP, December 21, 2016
TULTEPEC, Mexico--The San Pablito fireworks market was especially well stocked for the holidays and bustling with hundreds of shoppers when a powerful chain-reaction explosion ripped through its stalls, killing at least 29 people and leaving dozens more badly burned.
The third such blast to ravage the market on the northern outskirts of Mexicoâs capital since 2005 sent up a towering plume of smoke that was lit up by a staccato of bangs and flashes of light. Once the smoke cleared, the open-air bazaar was reduced to a stark expanse of ash, rubble and the charred metal of fireworks stands, casting a pall over the countryâs Christmas season.
Mexico State health officials said 72 people were being treated for injuries from Tuesdayâs explosion, including for severe burns, in some cases over 90 percent of their bodies. Ten children were among the hospitalized. Authorities have not yet said what may have caused the explosions which took place in Mexico State, which rings the capital.
Cesar Ornelas of Atizapan de Zaragoza was only 10 minutes into shopping with his son and his father when he heard the first explosions. He tried to run, but something knocked him to the ground from behind. He tried several times to get up, unsuccessfully, and ultimately his 15-year-old son Francisco had to drag him out.
âWe didnât look back,â said Ornelas, who suffered light burns and a large bruise over his left kidney. His white tank top had a fist-size burn on the chest. âWe heard how the explosion was kind of going off bit by bit.â
A similar fire engulfed the San Pablito Market in 2005, touching off a chain of explosions that leveled hundreds of stalls just ahead of Mexicoâs Independence Day. A year later a similar incident at the same market also destroyed hundreds of stands.
Portuguez, the Tultepec mayor, said the manufacture and sale of fireworks is a key part of the local economy. He added that it is regulated by law and under the âconstant supervisionâ of the Defense Department, which oversees firearms and explosives.
âThis is part of the activity of our town. It is what gives us identity,â Portuguez said. âWe know it is high-risk, we regret this greatly, but unfortunately many peopleâs livelihoods depend on this activity.â
Deadly fireworks explosions have occurred with some regularity in Mexico: In 2002, a blast at a market in the Gulf coast city of Veracruz killed 29; in 1999, 63 people died when an explosion of illegally stored fireworks destroyed part of the city of Celaya; and in 1988, a fireworks blast in Mexico Cityâs La Merced market killed at least 68.