At least 13 people were killed and dozens were injured on Friday after a truck containing fireworks exploded in central Mexico, according to reports.
The truck blew up during a religious procession in the rural village of Jesus Tepatepec in Tepatepec, part of the Nativitas municipality located around 75 miles from Mexico City. Seventy people were badly burned and were rushed to hospitals in nearby Tlaxcala and Puebla states, reported The Associated Press.
The blast apparently occurred after one lit firework landed on the truck.
“They were in a procession, they were shooting off rockets and it exploded and fell onto the other ones,” Jose Mateo Morales, head of the Tlaxcala state civil protection department, told AP. “It was very serious.”
One witness, Isidro Garcia Vazquez, told AFP that around 200 people were in a field where fireworks were being lit, but then “everything started to explode.”
“Many of us were able to run, but we saw bodies flying, then everything went black,” he said.
The victims were apparently standing near the truck on the street where people were preparing to celebrate a patron saint.
Witnesses also recalled seeing a baby among those who were killed in the blast.
A local official said rescue workers are looking for bodies in a canal, while the army is helping to carry out an emergency response.
Eleven victims died on the scene, reported El Universal. Two others, including a child, were pronounced dead overnight.
In Mexico, fireworks are commonly used in holidays and celebrations, but as AP notes, they are often transported under unsafe conditions. There have been previous, notable fireworks-related accidents in the country.
