Explosions occurred in Tultepec, where 42 died in a 2016 fireworks blast, leaving many angry over the repeated disasters

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Nineteen people have been killed and at least 40 injured in a string of explosions that ripped through fireworks workshops just north of Mexico City – the latest in a series of deadly blasts to hit the area.

Video of Thursday’s disaster showed an immense plume of smoke rising above the area of the explosions in the town of Tultepec. Other images released by local media showed wrecked buildings and scorched ground in a rural patch of modest homes and small farm plots.

Officials said that four explosions ripped through the area after fire broke out at a clandestine worshop.

“The problem was that after the first explosion, people went running to help, and when the second explosion occurred, these people who ran to help were killed,” Luis Felipe Puente, head of Mexico’s civil defense agency, told the Milenio news network.



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The tragedy comes 18 months after a chain reaction of explosions tore through the San Pablito fireworks market in Tultepec at the height of the busy Christmas season, killing 42 people.

The 2016 blast marked the third time in a decade the site had exploded, even though it was supposedly constructed to avoid just such a calamity.

Mexicans were quick to express anger of officials’ apparent inability to prevent repeated disasters at the same site.

“Guess what happened in Tultepec (again) …” the Reforma newspaper’s city section tweeted.

In a second tweet, the newspaper said: “Barely 11 days ago, an explosion in Tultepec left one dead and six injured; 18 days ago, another [explosion] caused seven deaths … Explosions and tragedies in Tultepec repeat themselves constantly.”

The people in Tultepec express pride in their pyrotechnics industry, despite the risks. Barely three months after the 2016 San Pablito explosion the town paid tribute to those who died in the accident with a massive fireworks display.

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“It’s a high-risk activity and there are a lot of people that depend on it,” said Juan Guerrero, a Tultepec government spokesman. He estimated the fireworks business – which supplies the country and attracts hoards of buyers over the independence and Christmas holidays – supports 30,000 jobs.

“It’s generational. There are some people who are third-generation working in it and obviously it’s a good source of work,” he said. “The earnings are good, but it’s high-risk.”

Critics accuse politicians of refusing to crack down on the industry in order to win elections, even going so far as to promise support for those in the fireworks trade.