Mexico candy factory blast death toll rises to two

CIUDAD JUAREZ: A second worker has died following an explosion in a candy factory in northern Mexico and 15 others remain hospitalized, a local official said Friday.

The man died from severe burns at a hospital on Friday, one day after an explosion ripped through the Blueberry factory in Ciudad Juarez, city government spokesman Guillermo Terrazas told AFP.

More than 40 people were injured in the blast. Of the 15 who are still hospitalized, five are in critical condition, Terrazas said.

Rescue workers were still combing the debris at the US-owned factory, where 900 people were working when the explosion tore down walls.

The cause of the blast is under investigation.

Ciudad Juarez, which lies across the border from the Texas city of El Paso, has been a manufacturing hub for two decades, though it has become more famous for drug cartel violence recently.