'At least 9 dead, 70 hurt in Mexico fireworks market blast'

An explosion ripped through a fireworks market in Mexico's capital, killing at least nine people and injuring 70, according to police.

The conflagration, in the suburb of Tultepec, set off a quickfire series of multicolored blasts and a vast amount of smoke yesterday that hung over Mexico City.

"We have a preliminary toll of 70 people injured who are being taken to various emergency rooms, and nine people dead," the federal police said on its Twitter account.