Fifteen killed in Guatemala City market fire

GUATEMALA CITY, Nov 21 (Reuters) Fifteen people died when a market in Guatemala City caught fire, suffocating shoppers and workers trapped inside a labyrinthine building of grain and vegetable stalls.

Firefighters' spokesman Oscar Sanchez said the charred bodies of 14 people were recovered at the scene, where the blaze burned two city blocks. One person died after being transferred to a hospital, he said.

Witnesses said a lit cigarette set a fireworks stand on fire, said Ricardo Lemus, another fire department spokesman. ''Then strong winds made everything burn faster,'' he said.

Fatal fires are common before Christmas and New Year's in Guatemala, when fireworks sales increase.

Clandestine factories, many which illegally employ children, pack hundreds of rockets and firecrackers with explosive material to be sold in markets across the country each year.

REUTERS DKS PM0723