Tragedy in Mexico: An explosion on a gasoline line has killed at least 21 people. At least 71 more were injured in the accident, Hidalgo Governor Omar Fayad said on Friday night (local time). The attention now applies to the injured, so Fayad. He was on his way to the scene of the accident, said the governor.
So close to the pipeline, several hundred people were found at the time of the explosion, local media reported. On the line in the city Tlahuelilpan had previously formed a leak, local residents approached to take the gasoline in buckets or canisters.
Cause for explosion still unclear
How exactly it came to the explosion was not clear at first. On video footage was to see how after the explosion panic at the accident prevailed. People ran screaming away from the fuel line. Flames spiked at the pipeline. The fire spread to the scene of the accident. Forces locked the zone. Mexico's President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called on the government to support the people in the affected region. The fire was not extinguished late Friday evening.
Special forces were at the scene of the accident, as the state-owned oil company Pemex explained. In addition, eleven ambulances are in use. The injured with severe burns would be taken to hospitals in Mexico City, Pemex said. Rescue helicopters were sent from the capital, said Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum. Tlahuelilpan is located about 85 kilometers north of the capital.
Petrol theft big problem in Mexico
On Friday afternoon, according to the TV station "Milenio TV" a leak on the line had been reported. Pemex said it had been an illegal tapping attempt on the pipeline between the cities of Tuxpan and Tula.
Petrol theft is a big problem in Mexico. According to Pemex, every 30 minutes last year an attempt was made to illegally tap one of the pipelines. Hidalgo's governor called after the accident, the population not to participate in the gasoline-Klau. It is perilous, warned Fayad on Twitter. "That happened today in Tlahuelilpan and it can not be repeated."
The government has been taking action against fuel theft since the end of December and has already closed some lines. The fuel is now transported in guarded tanker trucks. At the petrol stations of the Latin American country, this led to long queues in recent weeks.