Italian fireworks factory explosion kills

[Tony]

ROME: An explosion at a fireworks factory Monday killed three people and injured at least two others in an Italian town near Naples, police said.

The fatalities were the factory's owner, a relative and a worker, police said. The factory is outside the town of Gragnano, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from Naples.

The explosion occurred while workers packed gunpowder into fireworks, paramilitary police official Cesare Nalli said. The cause of the explosion was under investigation.

Many fireworks factories, often small and family-run, dot the area surrounding Naples.

 

[Vavoom]

Although this happens sometimes, it's very sad news. Words are not enough...

The factory that exploded was Gennaro Novellino.
A friend told me they were known to use very bright colours and make high quality (and expensive) shells.
They have won the Festival di Arte Pirotecnica Fuochi sul Basento in Potenza several times (1995, 1999 and 2001).

In 1987 the factory also exploded and one 16 year old person died at that time.

Below some links to Italian articles.
In general they say that people in the surroundings were very scared and at first thought that the Vesuvius erupted again or that it was an earthquake (severe tremors lasted for 20 seconds). The explosion was heard more than 10 kilometers away. Damage is severe, body parts of humans and animals were found 200 metres away, farmers and cattle in the vicinity also got hurt. Fatalities could have been higher, but some people just went for a coffeebreak.

I do not have the time to translate everything, but http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr will help as well.

http://www.lastampa.it/redazione/cmsSezioni/cronache/200704articoli/20867girata.asp
http://www.ilgiornale.it/a.pic1?ID=173139
http://www.doctorfire.it/inprimopiano.asp?id_s=8&id_a=165
http://www.ansa.it/opencms/export/site/visualizza_fdg.html_2141425288.html