Blast at Spanish Fireworks Plant Kills 5, Injures 7

An explosion ripped through a fireworks factory Monday, killing five workers, injuring seven and touching off a small forest fire, Spanish news agencies said.

One worker was reported missing after the blast outside this town of 1,400 in southeastern Spain near Valencia, the news agencies quoted the Emergency Coordination Center as saying.

A second employee believed missing was later found in his home. He had not reported for work, officials said.

Another worker, a young man whose name was not given, told Spanish television that the plant was destroyed. “There is absolutely nothing left here,” he said.

The Hermanos Barreda fireworks factory, which has a work force of about 20, is a series of small buildings next to a wooded hill that caught fire because of the explosion. Firefighters brought the blaze under control, the Europa Press news agency said.

The Efe news agency said the blast occurred in a building where Roman candles are made. The cause of the explosion was not immediately known.

The explosion came two days after a blast at a fireworks warehouse in the Dutch town of Enschede killed at least 20 people and injured 601.