At least 10 killed in central Mexico fireworks blast during festival

At least 10 people have been killed and at least 60 wounded in Mexico when fireworks detonated during a village festival, according to the local government.

Video showed revellers carrying a bull made of straw, with fireworks spouting out of the effigy in Santa Maria Canchesda in the Temascalcingo municipality in central Mexico. The AFP news agency reported that the celebration on Saturday was part of a local ritual.

The burning bull apparently ignited a larger store of fireworks in the village church. The explosion knocked down walls and ignited a fire in the town square, according to the news agency.

Local media reported that some people were trapped under falling debris from the blast.

The diocese of the nearby municipality of Atlacomulco said two priests were injured but are expected to survive.

“We join together in prayer for those who have lost their lives, their families and loved ones, as well as those who were injured and all those who are experiencing moments of pain and worry today,” the diocese said in a statement on social media.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office said the cause of the explosion has not been determined and an investigation has opened.

Firework mishaps have previously been deadly in Mexico. In July 2018, an explosion killed 24 people at a fireworks factory in the city of Tultepec, north of Mexico City.

Two years earlier, 42 people died in another fireworks explosion in a market in the city.