Six killed in factory blast

AN explosion at a fireworks factory in Italy has killed six people.

Witnesses told RAI state television they heard at least three thundering blasts, followed by flames that torched trees and shrubs around Arpino, in the region of Latium, about 115km south east of Rome.

A police spokeswoman said six people had been killed.

A similar blast in the area in 1994 killed six people, but she could not confirm that it occurred at a factory affiliated with the same owners of the factory that exploded yesterday.