Several killed in Italy fireworks factory blasts

At least seven people have been killed in a huge explosion at a fireworks factory near Italy’s southern city of Bari, local media say. Among the victims was also an Albanian, named Saimir Merja, 28-years old.

The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined, police said. At the moment the factory has exploded, 14 people were working. Two Canadair firefighting planes were flying overhead to try to douse the fire, which has spread to nearby forests. A group of children aged 5-13 were evacuated from an educational summer camp.

Of the six injured, one is in a critical condition, La Repubblica reported. “Then I thought that a building might have collapsed”, she added. It took hours to recover the charred bodies.

A plume of smoke rises from the Bruscella fireworks factory in Modugno near Bari, Italy, Friday, July 24, 2015.

In May, three people died and three others were injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory near Naples.