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A powerful explosion at a fireworks factory in Malta on Monday injured two, sending a massive plume of smoke and debris into the air, police said.
The blast and subsequent explosions at the Ta’ Lourdes fireworks factory on the north side of the Mediterranean island shook buildings and shattered glass, according to videos posted by local newspapers the Times of Malta and Malta Today.
A first blast occurred at about 6:35 am and was followed by a second powerful one, according to witnesses who spoke to the papers.
Two men who suffered minor injuries had been working in nearby fields when the explosions happened, police said on social media.
No workers were at the factory at the time, they said.
Other small explosions went off even hours after the first ones, according to the Times of Malta.
Edward Mercieca, who lives nearby, told the paper that he was awoken by the first explosion.
“It felt like someone picked up a hammer the size of a truck and banged on the side of my house,” he was quoted by the Times of Malta as saying.
“The plume of smoke must have been a thousand feet (300 metres) high.”
Prime Minister Robert Abela, whose Labour party won an unprecedented fourth term on Saturday, wrote on social media that his “thoughts are with the people affected by the explosion that occurred this morning.”
Authorities had been immediately dispatched to assist, he said.
Additional sources • AFP