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Death toll from Mexico market blast hits 36

People attend the funeral of one of the victims of the fireworks market explosion in Tultepec, Mexico state, December 22, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

The death toll from a recent explosion at a fireworks market in Mexico has risen to 36, with dozens more left injured following the incident.

Hospital officials in Mexico said on Saturday that the latest fatality was a woman who had burns on 90 percent of her body. They said that, of the 60 people injured in the chain-reaction explosion, several remained in critical condition.

The blast occurred at the San Pablito fireworks market in Tultepec, about 32 kilometers north of the capital, on Tuesday afternoon, razing almost all of the market’s 300 stalls.

The explosions killed at least 26 people on the spot and also inflicted damage on nearby vehicles and buildings.

The image shows the aftermath of a massive explosion at Mexico’s biggest fireworks market, near Mexico City, December 20, 2016. (By AFP)

At the time of the blast, the market was full of customers buying pyrotechnics for traditional end-of-the-year festivities.

The site of the incident, which housed the country’s biggest fireworks market in the capital, had been inspected by safety officials last month but no irregularities had been reported.

The market had experienced two similar incidents — in 2005 and 2006 — that left dozens of injuries each but no fatalities.

Authorities have been investigating the latest incident but have released no information yet.


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