Several people were injured and one person has died after a devastating explosion in Tultepec, Mexico took place Saturday morning, authorities report.
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The explosion was allegedly caused by a fire at a pyrotechnics workshop in the state of Mexico and detonated at approximately 10:30 a.m. The fire was later controlled, but the life of a 22-year-old Marco Antonio Hernandez had already been lost.
The injured are in critical condition and receiving treatment at Zumpango Medical Center.
The Civil Protection authorities have cautioned townspeople to avoid the site “due to possibly detonations.”
"What we are trying to do is to allow what is left in this place that is on fire to be consumed, because with water, these chemicals can react and cause more explosions," said Luis Felipe Puente, General Coordinator of Civil Protection.
The firemen of the State Emergency Service (SUEM), Civil Protection, the Secretariat of National Defense, Crime Unites, among other rescue teams, are at the scene.
In 2016, a similar accident killed 42 people. There are roughly 300 such locations throughout the region with over 50 million pesos financing their operations. However, Tultepec Mayor Armando Cervantes says only 258 trade workers are certified to manufacture these explosives.