Twenty-four people were killed and at least 49 injured yesterday when a series of explosions ripped through fireworks workshops in a town just north of Mexico City, according to officials.

The dead included at least four firefighters and two police officers who rushed to the scene after the first explosion, only to be killed by a subsequent wave of blasts. The government of the State of Mexico said in a statement that eight people from Tultepec were killed, along with the six emergency personnel and two others who have not yet been identified.