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At least 29 dead, 70 hurt in Mexico fireworks market blast

[email protected] (Agencies)
December 21, 2016

Tultepec (Mexico), Dec 21: A massive explosion gutted Mexico's biggest fireworks market, killing at least 29 people and injuring 70, authorities said.

firecrackers

The conflagration, in the suburb of Tultepec, set off a quickfire series of multicoloured blasts and a vast cloud of smoke yesterday that hung over Mexico City.

The market was packed at the time with customers buying pyrotechnics for traditional end-of-year festivities.

Christmas and New Year's parties in many Latin American countries very often wrap up with clattering firework blasts.

"We recovered 26 bodies at the scene of the incident," Mexico state prosecutor Alejandro Gomez told reporters at the site.

Federal police, who had reported an initial death toll of nine, said on Twitter that 70 people were hurt and were being transported to emergency rooms.

Fire crews struggled for three hours before bringing the blaze under control.

The head of the civil protection service, Luis Felipe Puente, said they had to wait for all the fireworks explosions to stop. The damage was beyond vast.

"The entire market is gone," he said.

He added that several of the injured were in "delicate condition," and searches were under way for more casualties in the scorched area that looked like a scene from a post-apocalyptic film.

Homes and vehicles nearby were also damaged.

The military was deployed to help emergency crews transport casualties to hospitals by ambulance and helicopter.

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto tweeted his condolences to the families of those killed and his wishes for recovery for those hurt.

A local resident, Alejandra Pretel, told AFP: "The sound of blasts started to go off and we thought it was a nearby fireworks workshop."

But minutes later it became evident that it was the market being destroyed.

"My neighbours said they felt everything shake, but I didn't realise because I was running away," she said.

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News Network
April 14,2024

indiancanda.jpg

New Delhi: A 24-year-old student from India was shot dead inside a car in Canada's South Vancouver, the local police have said. The Vancouver Police in a statement said Chirag Antil, 24, was found dead inside a vehicle in the area after neighbours reported hearing gunshots.

"Officers were called to East 55th Avenue and Main Street around 11 pm on April 12 after residents heard the sound of gunshots. Chirag Antil, 24, was found deceased inside a vehicle in the area. No arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing," the police said.

Chirag Antil's brother Ronit told reporters that Chirag seemed happy when they spoke on the phone in morning. Chirag later took out his Audi to go somewhere. That was when he was shot dead.

The Congress students' wing National Students' Union of India chief Varun Choudhary in a post on X tagging the Ministry of External Affairs requested for assistance to the student's family.

"Urgent attention regarding the murder of Chirag Antil, an Indian student in Vancouver, Canada. We urge the Ministry of External Affairs to closely monitor the progress of the investigation and ensure that justice is swiftly served," Mr Choudhary said.

"Additionally, we request the ministry to extend all necessary support and assistance to the family of the deceased during this difficult time," he said.

Chirag Antil's family is raising money through the crowdfunding platform GoFundMe to repatriate his body to India, local media reported.

Haryana resident Romit Antil, the brother of Chirag Antil, told CityNews that he was a kind-hearted person.

"My brother and I had a great relationship. We used to talk every day, day and night. I spoke to him last before the accident happened. He was kind of happy, he never had any issues or fights with anyone, ever. He was an extremely polite person," Romit Antil told CityNews.

Chirag Antil came to Vancouver in September 2022. He just finished MBA at University Canada West, and recently got his work permit.

Here are 5 facts about Chirag Antil

1.    Chirag Antil was a resident of Sonipat, Haryana.
2.    He was the youngest son of Mahavir Antil, a retired employee of the Sugar Mill Department of the Haryana Government.
3.    Chirag moved to Vancouver in 2022 to pursue higher studies at the University Canada West (UCW), in British Columbia.
4.    After completing his MBA, he started working at a company in Canada after getting a work permit.
5.    Chirag's brother Ronit shared in an interview that his younger sibling was a "kind-hearted" person. "I spoke to him last before the accident happened," he said and added that Chirag sounded "happy".

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