Deadly Fireworks Accident Strikes During Religious Procession in Central Mexico Town Al Jazeera
go to original March 16, 2013

Residents stand behind a row of condolence flowers at the site of a fireworks accident in the village of Jesus Tepactepec, near the state capital Tlaxcala, March 16, 2013. (Reuters/Imelda Medina)

UPDATE: EFE reported Sunday that officials say that two more people have died, raising the death toll to 16.

A truck loaded with fireworks has exploded during a religious procession in rural village of central Mexico, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens more, authorities said.

The blast was set off on Friday when a firework malfunctioned and landed on the truck, igniting the fireworks it carried, officials said.

Seventy people were burned or had other injuries, and at least 45 were taken to hospitals, authorities in the neighbouring states of Tlaxcala and Puebla said.

The victims were marching in a procession for the patron saint of Jesus Tepactepec, a village of about 1,000 people in Tlaxcala, state civil protection director Jose Mateo Morales said.

Fireworks are a typical feature of Mexican holidays and religious celebrations but they often are manufactured, stored and transported under unsafe conditions, and the country sees periodic fatal explosions.

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