The other side of fireworks

Mexico fireworks blast: Bodies too charred to identify

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The BBC reports that the bodies of some of the 32 people killed in an explosion at a fireworks market outside Mexico City are so badly charred that neither their age nor gender can immediately be determined, the state prosecutor has said.

Alejandro Gomez said forensic experts were carrying out DNA tests to identify the blackened remains of the dead.

So far, only 18 bodies have been identified.

More than 70 people were also injured when the explosion happened.


The death toll increased from 31 to 32 later on Wednesday when one of the injured died in hospital, said Mexico state Health Secretary Cesar Gomez Monge.

Among them were three badly burned children who are being taken to a hospital in the US for treatment.

Mexico state Governor Eruviel Avila said other victims would be transferred to a specialised burn centre in Galveston, Texas, if doctors say they are fit to travel.

Image copyrightAFP

Image captionMembers of the public were left with the harrowing task of getting dead and severely injured people away from the scene of the blast

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