An explosion, of a 1 to 5-tonne TNT equivalent, followed by fire occurred at 9:40 am in a fireworks production plant. The human toll was 20 deaths, 153 injured requiring hospitalisation and 4 disappeared. The blast blew out windows within a 1-km radius and the shock wave was felt 5 km away. The authorities evacuated 2,000 residents, while 550 fire-fighters and soldiers were mobilised. The Deputy Head of the arrondissement jurisdiction and the local Workplace Safety Office Director were relieved of their duties. The police arrested a Safety Office inspector for professional misconduct along with the plant’s director and deputy director. An investigation was carried out. According to initial findings, the plant had been illegally producing fireworks following revocation of its production permit. In June, the site had been ordered by the court to suspend production and upgrade safety standards. Torrential downpours would have flooded one of the site’s storage facilities, with the explosion occurring as employees were removing fireworks from the building.