(Mexico City) Nine people died Monday in a fire probably of arson at the wholesale market in Toluca, the country’s fifth largest city 65 km west of the capital Mexico City, authorities said.
Another person is hospitalized, the local government and Mexico State prosecutor’s office said.
The Toluca supply market is the second largest after Mexico City, with 26,000 daily visitors, according to the local government.
The fire could be the result of “internal conflicts, which relate to the ownership of businesses, through legal actions, threats and various attacks recorded before”, according to the official report.
Toluca Mayor Raymundo Martinez told the newspaper Milenio that the fire was probably the result of disputes between “sellers and owners” of businesses.