MEXICO CITY, MX. (THECOUNT) — A massive fire erupted following an explosion at a pipeline leaking fuel in central Mexico on Friday. The blast reportedly killed at least 20 people and badly burning 60 others as locals collected the spilling gasoline in buckets, officials said.
The leak was caused by fuel thieves illegally tapping the pipeline in a small town in the state of Hidalgo, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) north of Mexico City, according to state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex.
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Video footage showed dozens of residents near the town of Tlahuelilpan gathered to collect spilled fuel in buckets, garbage cans and other vessels. Fuel was seen spouting dozens of feet into the air from the tap. Footage then showed flames shooting high into the air against a night sky and the pipeline ablaze. source
Hidalgo Gov. Omar Fayad said 20 people were killed immediately and 60 suffered burns in the blast at the duct that carries fuel —apparently gasoline — from the Gulf coast to the Mexico City area.
“Caring for the wounded is our top priority,” Fayad said.
Pemex attributed the blaze to “the manipulation of an illegal tap.”
Developing.
Mexico City is the densely populated, high-altitude capital of Mexico. It’s known for its Templo Mayor (a 13th-century Aztec temple), the baroque Catedral Metropolitana de México of the Spanish conquistadors and the Palacio Nacional, which houses historic murals by Diego Rivera. All of these are situated in and around the Plaza de la Constitución, the massive main square also known as the Zócalo, says wikipedia.