Seven dead in fireworks blast at Mexico church

Team Udayavani, Dec 12, 2018, 9:56 AM IST

Mexico City: A massive fireworks explosion during a procession at a Mexican church killed seven people Tuesday and left some 50 wounded, authorities said.

Two children aged 11 and 12 were among those killed in the accident, which occurred around dawn at the San Jose parish atrium in Tequisquiapan, some 145 kilometers (90 miles) northwest of Mexico City.

Parishioners had donated the fireworks for a festival, but “something went wrong and they exploded,” said Gabriel Bastarrachea, emergency response official for the state of Queretaro.

A video posted on social media showed people marching toward the church in a festive procession when suddenly a giant, fiery blast sent them running and screaming.

It was the latest in a string of deadly fireworks accidents in Mexico, where a thriving but dangerous cottage industry supplies a seemingly endless array of colorful explosives to celebrate holidays and festivals.

At least 24 people were killed in a series of fireworks explosions last July in the town of Tultepec in central Mexico, and 42 people were killed there when a rocket exploded in December 2016 at the height of the Christmas fireworks rush.