Gas blast kills 4 in Mexico City suburb famous for fireworks

The local Red Cross says the explosion was “apparently due to a gas build-up.”

Four people were killed in an explosion at a home in a Mexico City suburb on Saturday where a massive blast in a fireworks market left dozens dead in December.

A home is surrounded by rubble from an explosion in the Mexico City suburb Tultepec on March 4. (AP Photo)

The Mexico state government identifies the victims as two women ages 25 and 26 and two children ages 6 and 11. Six others were hospitalized for injuries from cuts to severe burns.

The local Red Cross says the explosion was “apparently due to a gas build-up.”

The Saturday morning blast took place in a residential neighbourhood of Tultepec, about 2 miles (3 kilometers) from the San Pablito fireworks market.

Many Tultepec residents make a living from the manufacture and sale of fireworks. It was not immediately clear whether there was explosive material at the residence that could have exacerbated the effects of the explosion.

A series of massive explosions destroyed a fireworks market in Tultepec in December and killed more than three dozen people.