An errant firecracker landed on a cache of fireworks and touched off a powerful explosion at a home in central Mexico, killing 11 children and three adults, authorities said Tuesday. National Civil Protection Coordinator Luis Felipe Puente said 25 others were injured in Monday night's blast in the town of San Isidro, in Chilchotla municipality. He added that most of the fatalities came from just two families. Puebla state officials said the fireworks were being stored inside a home behind a church ahead of a May 15 religious celebration, and the firecracker that set off the explosion came from outside as part of a procession of an image of the local patron saint.
"One of the rockets that are being launched into the air doesn't go up but falls instead, it turns ... and it touches down right there in the room where the pyrotechnic material was," Puebla Government Secretary Diodoro Carrasco said in an interview with Milenio TV.
"Totally accidental," he added.
The ensuing blast blew out the walls and roof, destroying the home.
Fireworks are a mainstay of holiday celebrations in Mexico, and accidental blasts are relatively common occurrences often with fatal consequences.
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