At Least Three Dead In Sicily Firework Depot Explosion

Rome, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Nov, 2019 ) :Three people died Wednesday in an explosion at a fireworks factory in Sicily, firefighters said after the incident at the family-run firm.

The late afternoon blast killed two workmen and the 71-year-old wife of the owner of the Costa company in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, in Sicily's Messina region.

Antonio Costa, the owner's son, was one of four people hurt and was taken to hospital in the island's capital Palermo with serious injuries.

Firefighters managed to extricate one employee who was inside the depot at the time of the explosion but reported a colleague as missing.

Staff were preparing for New Year celebrations comprising traditional firework displays across the south of Italy designed to chase away evil spirits.

Preparations for such displays, a tradition dating back to 1540, annually see a number of fatal incidents.