9 dead, dozens hurt in Mexico fireworks explosion

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- A truck loaded with fireworks exploded during a religious procession in rural village of central Mexico on Friday, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more, authorities said.

The blast was set off when a firework malfunctioned and landed on the truck, igniting the fireworks it carried, officials said. Seventy people were burned or had other injuries, and at least 45 were taken to hospitals, authorities in the neighboring states of Tlaxcala and Puebla said.

The victims were marching in a procession for the patron saint of Jesus Tepactepec, a village of about 1,000 people in Tlaxcala, state civil protection director Jose Mateo Morales said.

Fireworks are a typical feature of Mexican holidays and religious celebrations but they often are manufactured, stored and transported under unsafe conditions, and the country sees periodic fatal explosions.