Blast at Mexico fireworks factory kills 31

At least 31 people have been killed and some 72 others injured in a blast at a fireworks market in Mexico.

The explosion happened at the San Pablito fireworks market in Tultepec, about 32 kilometers north of Mexico City, on Tuesday.

The casualty toll may rise as rescue workers continue to search for victims at the site of the explosion.

The army was deployed to help emergency crews transport the injured to hospitals via ambulances and helicopters.

The governor of Mexico state, Eruviel Avila, said that the current priority was to “tend to the injured.”

“The sound of blasts started to go off and we thought it was a nearby fireworks workshop,” a local was quoted by AFP as saying. “My neighbors said they felt everything shake, but I didn’t realize because I was running away,” she said.