Millions of people worldwide watched the astonishing footage of the fireworks explosions in Tultepec, occurred at the San Pablito Market five days before Christmas Day. It was probably caused accidentally by accumulated gas from the fireworks, around 40 people were killed, dozens injured, and the market was reduced to a heap of rubble.
This city of more than 65,000 inhabitants was shocked by the tragedy but, instead of giving up the fireworks tradition, they decided to pay tribute to the victims with a big pyrotechnic show.
According to Milenio newspaper, the National Pyrotechnics Fair is being held this week in Tultepec, whose main attraction is a contest of ‘castillos’, with structures of more than 35 meters, including each one more than 100 kilograms of powder.
“Unfortunatelly we suffered a very severe accident at the San Pablito Market, and this show is a tribute for the victims”, claimed a local fireworks businessman. There are thousands of people in Tultepec who fireworks is their bread and butter. However, there are a lot of small illegal factories producing fireworks in the city, with the consequent safety risks.