Four dead, 38 injured in Taiwan firecracker blast

TAIPEI: At least four people were killed and 38 others injured when a truckload of firecrackers exploded in northern Taiwan, officials said Saturday.

The blast took place as a truck driver was unloading the firecrackers late Friday near a paper shop in New Taipei City, and also destroyed a dozen houses nearby, said vice mayor Hou Yu-ih.

The Apple Daily newspaper said that the sound of the powerful explosion could be heard from as far as 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) away, while smoke soared nine storeys high.

The blast incinerated several cars and its impact shattered the windows of houses across a river from the scene, the newspaper reported.