No deaths were reported after a fuel pipeline exploded in southern Mexico, an emergency services official said on Thursday May 9, adding that a fire triggered by the blast was under control.
The explosion was allegedly caused by fuel thieves (huachicoleros), and Mexican state oil firm Pemex is investigating the incident that occurred in one of its pipelines in southern Chiapas, a company spokesperson said.
David León, Mexico’s head of emergency services, said the pipeline burst at 23:10 hours on Wednesday May 8, in the Reforma municipality of Chiapas. The fire had yet to be extinguished but was under control, he said.
“No casualties or injuries have been reported,” David León told Mexican television station Milenio.
Two incinerated cars were found at the blast site, that were likely being used to transport stolen fuel, Reforma mayor Herminio Valdez told Milenio.
In January, at least 117 people died when a Pemex pipeline exploded in the state of Hidalgo shortly after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador launched a crackdown on rampant fuel theft, ordering pipelines closed in an effort to stamp out criminal activity.
Source: MILENIO