23 dead in Mexico explosion

A supermarket explosion killed at least 23 people in northern Mexico on Saturday, according to local officials, with investigators saying the blast was an accident possibly caused by a faulty electric transformer.

- Agence France-Presse

The damaged facade of the store on Saturday.

(REUTERS)

“Sadly a number of the victims we've found were minors,” Alfonso Durazo, governor of Sonora state, said in a video message as he announced the toll.

Gustavo Salas, the state prosecutor, said most victims had died of toxic gas inhalation.

He confirmed in a video shared by his office that the dead include some minors, but did not elaborate as the process of identifying the bodies was still ongoing.

Salas added that 12 people were injured and treated at hospitals in the city of Hermosillo, where the explosion took place.