News / EU

Three die in blast at Italy fireworks plant

Wednesday, 13 May 2015 5:52 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 13 May 2015 5:52 PM ]

The file photo shows the site of a fireworks factory blast in Italy.

Three people have been killed and four others injured in an explosion at a fireworks factory in southern Italy.

The explosion occurred in the industrial area of Ponte Riccio near the city of Naples on Wednesday.

Rescuers have recovered three bodies from the rubble. One of the factory owners, Raffaele Schiattarella, 55, was also reported to have lost his life in the blast.

The explosion was accidental, according to initial investigations.

Fireworks displays are very popular during religious and cultural festivities in Italy, particularly in the south of the country, but critics have warned of poor safety precautions at firework factories.

The Wednesday blast was the latest in a series of similar accidents in fireworks plants in Italy over the past years. Among the most recent ones, a blast at a fireworks factory in central Italy injured two people in February. Eight people were also killed in two separate explosions in 2013 and 2014 in southern Italy.

MRA/HSN/HRB

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