Fireworks warehouse explosion in Mexico kills at least 14, mostly minors

An explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Mexico has killed at least 14 people and wounded 22, an official said Tuesday.

The blast occurred Monday night in a rural area of central Puebla state, Diodoro Carrasco, a senior official in the state government, told radio station Cinco Radio.

News reports said 11 of the fatalities were minors but the government did not immediately confirm this.

The explosion came during preparations for a religious festival on May 15, the Puebla state government said.

There are people who live in the building where the fireworks were being stored, it said.

The blast was set off by a rocket that was fired from outside the building and struck the stored pyrotechnic material, the government said.

Last December, 42 people died and 70 were injured in a series of explosions at the country's largest fireworks market, in the town of Tultepec outside Mexico City.

At least 12 people were killed, including five children, and 30 were injured in an explosion at a house where fireworks were stored in central Mexico's Puebla state, authorities said on Tuesday.