Two people were killed and five injured in a blaze at a fireworks warehouse in central Israel on Tuesday, police said.

Video footage showed a series of furious explosions as thousands of fireworks erupted in rapid succession.

The roof of the warehouse was ripped off and nearby buildings were damaged in Porat, an agricultural community near Netanya, a city on the Mediterranean north of Tel Aviv.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that of the five injured, one was in serious condition. Forensic units were scouring the area for evidence of how the blaze began, he said. </s> A fireworks warehouse in northern Israel went up in flames on Tuesday, killing two people, injuring at least two more and setting off a series of loud explosions, authorities said.

Firefighters worked to douse the large fire at the structure around Porat, a village near the coastal city of Netanya, while evacuating residents and preventing the blaze from spreading to nearby homes.

Police said two bodies were recovered from the warehouse and an investigation into the fire was continuing.

A fire service spokesman called it "a very big fire, including explosions and fireworks being shot into the air".

Medics also took a 50-year-old man suffering burn wounds to hospital in serious condition, while at least one other person was less seriously hurt.

Authorities had initially spoken of seven injured.

Images distributed by police showed thick black smoke billowing, as fireworks exploded in the sky behind.

Police closed off the area and sent emergency units to the scene. </s> Two people were killed and five injured in a blaze at a fireworks warehouse in Israel on Tuesday (14 March).

Extraordinary footage posted online showed the large cache of fireworks going off in rapid succession, with the building's roof ripped off as a result of the blasts.

The ferocity of the flames, and effect of secondary explosions, also caused damage to neighbouring buildings and houses.

Firefighters were deployed to the scene, in the agricultural town of Porat, north of Tel Aviv, at about 11am local time.

The area was subsequently evacuated as rescuers attempted to find several people reportedly trapped inside the building.

"After a few minutes, the building completely collapsed," said Roi Solomon, a volunteer with the emergency response team ZAKA.

"ZAKA volunteers helped firefighters and MDA [Magen David Adom] rescue those who were trapped. Unfortunately, two of the factory workers were found killed."

The two fatalities were identified as Anas Abu Abed, 17, and Amir Takrouri, 24, of Qalansawe, the Times of Israel reported.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that of the five injured, one was in serious condition.

It was not immediately clear how the fire started.

The warehouse was reportedly operating as an illegal storage for fireworks, lacking a business license or permit from the fire department.

The warehouse manager was detained by police for questioning. </s> Goodshoot/Thinkstock(JERUSALEM) — At least two people are dead after a fire broke out at a fireworks warehouse in central Israel Tuesday, according to Israeli police.

The blaze in the town of Porat spurred several explosions. Five others were injured and taken to nearby hospitals, Israel Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld tweeted.

Rosenfeld added that the situation is now under control. </s> A video grab shows fireworks erupting at a fireworks warehouse in Porat, Israel March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Amit Zigdon Handout via REUTERS TV

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Two people were killed and five injured in a blaze at a fireworks warehouse in central Israel on Tuesday, police said.

Video footage showed a series of furious explosions as thousands of fireworks erupted in rapid succession.

The roof of the warehouse was ripped off and nearby buildings were damaged in Porat, an agricultural community near Netanya, a city on the Mediterranean north of Tel Aviv.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that of the five injured, one was in serious condition. Forensic units were scouring the area for evidence of how the blaze began, he said. </s> Two men were killed when a fire broke out at a fireworks storage facility in central Israel on Tuesday. </s> Multiple people were injured when a fire started in a fireworks factory in Porat, Israel.In a video captured by a nearby witness, multiple explosions could be seen and heard coming from the factory. Firefighters arrived and said that fireworks could still be heard exploding as they extinguished the flames. There is still no word on what could have caused the fire. </s> Baku. 25 September. REPORT.AZ/ A blaze at an illegal fireworks factory in Jharkhand state of India killed at least 8 people, 25 injured.

The fire broke out yesterday in Kumardhubi, East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand state where local residents established illegal fireworks production.

Blaze led to collapse of the part of the building.

Rescue work is underway, people may still be trapped under the rubble. </s> NAIVASHA, Kenya (Reuters) - A fireball from an oil lorry engulfed vehicles on one of Kenya’s main highways, killing at least 42 people late on Saturday, a rescue worker at the scene said.

The tanker lorry rammed into vehicles north of the central town of Naivasha then exploded, an official with the National Disaster Management Authority said.

“More bodies are still trapped inside the burned vehicles,” Red Cross volunteer Moha Maris told Reuters.

The government gave a lower death toll. “The information that we have is that 13 vehicles were involved and so far we have retrieved 33 bodies,” Irungu Nyakera, Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, told a news conference.

An official in Naivasha said 50 people were being treated in several hospitals for burns, eight of them in a serious condition.

In 2009, more than 100 people burned to death near the central town of Molo after a lorry carrying petrol caught fire. </s> Fires continue to rage across Israel. As of this writing, over 200 fires have been reported, thousands have been evacuated from their homes and many people have been hospitalized and treated for injuries. In Haifa close to 75,000 people were evacuated from their homes. On Friday, Nov. 25, new blazes broke out in the Jerusalem area.

A firefighting Supertanker is set to arrive in Israel from the US. The Boeing 747 Supertanker is considered the largest firefighter aircraft in the world. Countries from all over have sent planes and crews to help with the firefighting efforts.

The cause of the fires has not been ascertained, but Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh said Thursday, Nov. 24, that “several” individuals have been arrested on suspicion of arson. Shin Bet said the agency is investigating the possibility that several of the fires were nationalistically motivated terror attacks.

An Israeli village west of Jerusalem was evacuated due to fires raging on its margins, as some firefighting efforts were being diverted from Israel’s north to its center.

The flames nearing the village of Nataf were among three fires reported in the Jerusalem area Friday — the fourth day in which emergency services were battling multiple blazes across Israel, some of which were started by arsonist “terrorists,” according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Whereas fires were largely contained Friday in the northern city of Haifa, new blazes burned in the Jerusalem area — including a forest fire at Ma’aleh Hahamisha, which police traced back to a firebomb, and another fire at Mevo Horon in the West Bank.

On Friday, police arrested 13 people on suspicion of involvement in the fires, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan told Army Radio.

Several people have been treated for smoke inhalation but no serious injuries have been reported due to the fires.

During a visit to Hazor Airbase south of Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said of the fire starters: “These are people who are very hostile to the State of Israel. We’re seeing them operating in small teams and who knows whether they intercommunicate, which they don’t necessarily need to be doing” to keep causing fires.

The fires have been fanned by hot, dry weather and high winds, but some — including in Zichron Ya’akov, near Haifa — were started by arsonists, the head of local firefighting force said following an investigation.

Netanyahu, who on Thursday vowed to punish arsonists, has accepted offers of assistance from the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and Jordan, who on Friday joined Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, Russia and the United States in offering to help with firefighting equipment and personnel.

Egypt will send two helicopters, Jordan will send several trucks and the Palestinian Authority will dispatch four firefighting trucks as well.

Yona Yahav, the mayor of Haifa, which was one of the cities most heavily hit by the fires, said he was shocked to see the damage during a tour of the affected areas Friday.

“I had a difficult emotional experience,” he told Army Radio. “We take pride in how green our city is, but now everything is painted black.” Some 80,000 people were briefly evacuated from some neighborhoods of Haifa but they were allowed to return to their homes Friday.

Yahav added he had no information on the people who have been arrested on suspicion of arson, but wished to remind listeners that “there wasn’t a single Arab town in the country that didn’t contact me to offer its help.”

This is a developing story. The IJN incorporated reports from TPS and JNF into this story.
A blaze at a fireworks warehouse near Netanya, central Israel, kills two people and injures five others.