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Fireworks Blasts Kill at Least 19, Injures 40 Near Mexico City

Television images showed fumes rising over buildings on the outskirts of Tultepec and rescue workers at the scene.

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Two explosions at fireworks workshops outside Mexico City on Thursday, 5 July, killed at least 19 people, including rescue workers, and injured dozens more, officials said. This is the latest deadly blast to hit a town known for its fireworks production.

After a first blast in the municipality of Tultepec, firefighters, police and other rescue workers arrived at the scene when a second explosion occurred, the state government said in a statement.

"Emergency crews attended the call of the first explosion, when a second incident occurred, killing and injuring members of these groups," the statement said.

Television images showed a plume of smoke rising over buildings on the outskirts of Tultepec and scores of firefighters and rescue workers at the scene.

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Luis Felipe Puente, the head of Mexico's civil protection agency, told local television that there were atleast 19 fatalities and 40 people injured.

There has been a series of blasts at the fireworks markets, workshops and depots in Tultepec, about 20 miles (32 km) north of Mexico City, including a series of massive explosions in a market in December 2016 that killed around three dozen people.

Puente said the sale of fireworks in the area would be suspended and the permits of manufacturers would be reviewed.

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