(14 Oct 1998) Spanish/Nat
Friends and relatives of victims of the gunpowder explosion in Tultepec, Mexico began the sad process of burying the dead.
The explosion took place in a deposit of gunpowder used to make illegal fireworks wiping out a two block area of the central Mexican town.
Ten bodies have been recovered from the rubble.
Rescuers said they expect to find more bodies as they searched collapsed houses in the region which is known for its homemade fireworks.
It was a procession these people thought they wouldn't make for years to come.
But on Wednesday, family and friends of the ten victims of a massive gunpowder explosion made their way to their loved-ones' graves.
The gunpowder that caused the fatal explosion was used to make illegal fireworks.
People living in Tultepec stood stunned on Tuesday morning as
emergency crews and soldiers rushed past their broken homes to a rubble-filled crater.
The trade is the lifeblood for most families in this town, where many operate without permits.
Fine powder floated onto the dreary grey cinderblock homes- a working-class neighborhood turned disaster zone.
The illegal use of explosives is punishable by one to eight years imprisonment under Mexican law.
Apparently fearful of losing their source of income or facing criminal penalties, local men aggressively blocked reporters from the blast site for nearly four hours.
They denied that gunpowder stockpiles were to blame arguing that gunpowder accidents typically only damage the building where they
occur, not neighboring structures.
The blast destroyed 16 houses, heavily damaged another 30 and slightly damaged 150 others.
In June 1997, an explosion in a Tultepec home producing illegal fireworks killed three people.
In December 1988, a Mexico City marketplace where illegal fireworks were sold exploded and set off a string of fires, killing 62 people and injuring 83.
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