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At least 66 killed and 76 injured in Mexico pipeline fire

At least 66 people have died and 76 others have been injured after a leaking oil pipeline trigger...
Newstalk
Newstalk

09.25 19 Jan 2019


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At least 66 killed and 76 inju...

At least 66 killed and 76 injured in Mexico pipeline fire

Newstalk
Newstalk

09.25 19 Jan 2019


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At least 66 people have died and 76 others have been injured after a leaking oil pipeline triggered a huge fire in central Mexico.

State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) said the pipeline exploded after thieves drilled an illegal tap.

About 300 locals were rushing to steal the oil when the leak erupted into flames in Hidalgo State, 60 miles north of Mexico City, on Friday evening.

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Video taken before the fire showed the oil spouting metres into the air as people approached with buckets at about 5pm local time.

Soldiers guard the area by an oil pipeline explosion in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, Mexico, 18-01-2018. Image: Mexico Secretary of National Defence via AP

Hidalgo's governor Omar Fayad told Mexican television that the number of victims could still rise, depending on what the emergency services found in the aftermath of the blaze.

The explosion was one of the worst in recent history in a country that has suffered hundreds of illegal breaches of its network of oil and gas pipelines.

Mr Fayad wrote on Twitter: "I urge the entire population not to be complicit in fuel theft.”

"Apart from being illegal, it puts your life and those of your families at risk," he said.

Paramedics move an injured person into a helicopter after a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo state, Mexico, 18-01-2019. Image: STR/Xinhua News Agency/PA Images

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has launched a major crackdown on fuel theft, which the government said cost the country more than €1.75m last year.

Expressing his concern on Twitter, Mr Obrador said he wanted "the entire government" to help people at the scene.

Images taken earlier in the day showed the pipeline gushing a fountain of fuel as a crowd gathered to try and collect it.

The president's crackdown on fuel theft has public support, although his decision to turn off pipelines in a bid to tackle the problem disrupted the supply in central Mexico and raised concern that shortages could damage the economy.


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