16 killed in firework accidents

Two unrelated incidents involving vehicles carrying fireworks have killed at least 16 people and injured 31 in Peru, police said. In the southern city of Juliaca, a vehicle packed with confiscated fireworks blew up in front of a provincial police station, killing four officers, police said in a statement. It said 17 more officers and four civilians suffered injuries. The statement said the explosives were seized at a clandestine fireworks factory and placed in an SUV belonging to the prosecutor's office. It said there was no indication the blast was anything but an accident. In the second incident, a small public bus caught fire in the mountains east of Lima on the central road, roads police commander Gaston Ramirez told RPP radio. He said fireworks aboard the vehicle were the cause. Mr Ramirez said between 12 and 14 people were killed and another 10 injured.