Tragedy in Mexico City

So far 29 deaths have been noted.

Toronto Star Article on Mexico City Fireworks disaster

As horrible as it is, it always seems even worse (if that's possible) when it happens near Christmas. So sorry for those folks and their families.

It's not the first time this has happened and most likely won't be the last.
PBS says, "It was the fifth such explosion since 2005 in the San Pablito fireworks market and the ninth since 1997."

A good read about this problem: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/21/fireworks-in-tultepec-and-mexico-s-tragedy-tradition.html

A jackass blogger living in Patzcuaro wrote a post about the tragedy. It is titled "Poetic Justice".

Another self righteous idiot. That accident had to be a nightmare for people who were there once the first fireworks exploded there was no telling where he danger came from, that had to be unbelievebly nightmare.

Clete wrote:A jackass blogger living in Patzcuaro  wrote a post about the tragedy. It is titled "Poetic Justice".

I hope the jerk had comments enabled & lots of people jumped on the jerk. There was an idiot on Facebook complaining about cohetes who eventually said that sooner or later Mexicans would "evolve" away from cohetes as after all, they used to kill babies which they don't do any more. Why do they come here?

I do not know why they come here but I wish they would go away.

Clete wrote:A jackass blogger living in Patzcuaro  wrote a post about the tragedy. It is titled "Poetic Justice".

Would that be Michael? Felipe Zapata, or whatever he's calling it now?

Because of an abundance of raw materials Tultepic is where the Spaniards chose to produce gunpowder and so it's been for the past 500 years.

Having read their history and being a fan of pyrotechnics we spent 4 days there to see their annual festival, 8 years ago.

Tultepec has been blowing up regularly for 5 centuries killing thousands and leaving many more with permanent scars. It's a crime they have to do this to make money. They are the sweetest, kindest folks around, just minding their own business and trying to make a decent living.

When we arrived everyone was happy and the party was on. An old man, with an ear to ear grin, told me "Tultepec used to be on a mountain but now it is in a valley." Then his buddy chimed in with "There is a little piece of Tultepec in every state in Mexico!" And at the time I thought they were joking.

I was interested in buying a mortar w/4" shell that produces one of those sky high oooh-aaaah color bombs (200 pesos) that are the staple of every fireworks show worldwide. The nice lady vendor, probably thinking I might be a big deal buyer walked me out to show me how to set it up then reached out with a match and asked if I would like to light it. It wouldn't have been a big deal if we were on the outskirts of town but we were smack-dab in the middle of everything. Every wall in every shop had bombs and rockets from ceiling to floor and wrapped like candy. The display racks were overflowing as were the baskets on the floor. It was really pretty in a wide eyed preverse way.

Briefly, their big deal yearly fireworks show/contest has entrants from China, U.S, Japan, Germany and the rest of the known world, and it goes on for hours. I asked a U.S pyro why the yearly international fireworks competition was held in Tultepec. He rubbed his hands together and smiled saying "No rules" and he wasn't kidding.

Months before the festivities each neighborhood starts building their 'bull' to parade at sundown on the big day. So about 300 bulls sized from go carts to city buses were paraded, judged and brought in the center of the plaza. Some really were works of art and all were deadly as they were stuffed and wrapped with every kind of explosive imaginable and then lit on fire. Now the fun part,(??) a group of guys would push the bull on wheels and chase anyone in the plaza. And since the plaza was packed it was amazing no one got run over. Of course those blind drunk on Pulque would dance and spin next to the exploding bulls. And now I knew why the two two streets were lined with paramedics in tents on one side with ambulances on the other. Good thing too, the closest ones to the plaza were busy.

So if you ever go be sure to take safety glasses, a heavy overcoat, and a leather hat.

Till then check out YouTube ... Bulls/Tultepec.

Trailrunner wrote:

Clete wrote:A jackass blogger living in Patzcuaro  wrote a post about the tragedy. It is titled "Poetic Justice".

Would that be Michael? Felipe Zapata, or whatever he's calling it now?

Tis he.

Good story, thanks OS.

Go back and look at the video and notice the buildings. That was one monster of an explosion.

I saw carpet bombing in Vietnam and that explosion looked bigger than anything I saw there.

I'm amazed that more didn't die.

Love that story, Once. Thanks for sharing.

jrm30655 wrote:Go back and look at the video and notice the buildings.  That was one monster of an explosion.

I saw carpet bombing in Vietnam and that explosion looked bigger than anything I saw there.

I'm amazed that more didn't die.

Sad, but the death toll will be higher as the critically burned pass away. I hope they have a burn center for them down there, know there's at least one in DF but all those pts will overwhelm. Burn pts are so hard, and so few survive the long haul in spite of infection and massive fluid loss. Heartbreaking. Imagine trying to get out of San Juan de Dios if it went up in flames or exploded.

People gravely injured were taken to Df..

http://abc13.com/news/victims-in-mexico-fireworks-blast-arrive-in-texas/1666514/

The children were taken to Galveston to be treated by the Shriner hospital.

Thank you Espiritu, the pictures made me weep. They will get excellent treatment there. The Shriners are such saints. sob

Sounds like the pts are getting the best care possible, here and there. This country is notoriously stingy with pain meds, hope the burn centers here in MX are an exception to that.

Shriners are a blessing. I know this personally.
Very, very tragic.

Just hope that many are receiving good care and come out all right. What a tragedy.