A festive holiday weekend turned tragic for families in northwestern Mexico when a deadly blaze engulfed a discount store in the city of Hermosillo, killing at least 23 people and injuring a dozen.

Mexico is celebrating the Day of the Dead this weekend with colourful festivities in which families honour and remember dead loved ones.

“I have ordered a thorough and transparent investigation to clarify the causes of the accident,” Alfonso Durazo, governor of the state of Sonora, of which Hermosillo is the capital, said in a video on social media on Saturday, adding that children were among the victims.

Most of the deaths appeared to have been from inhalation of toxic gases, said Gustavo Salas, the state’s attorney general, citing its forensic medical service.

“My heartfelt condolences to

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