In this image provided by the Secretary of National Defense soldiers guard in the area near an oil pipeline explosion in Tlahuelilpan A huge fire exploded at a pipeline leaking fuel in central Mexico on Friday killing at least 21 people and badly burning 71 others as locals were collecting the spilling gasoline in buckets and garbage cans Officials said the leak was caused by an illegal tap that fuel thieves had drilled into the pipeline in a small town in the state of Hidalgo about 62 miles (100 kilometers) north of Mexico City soldiers guard the area by an oil pipeline explosion in Tlahuelilpan works the area of a oil pipeline explosion in Tlahuelilpan A massive fireball that engulfed people scooping up fuel spilling from a pipeline ruptured by thieves in central Mexico killed several people and badly burned others EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - A forensic experts take picture burned body in the area an oil pipeline explosion in Tlahuelilpan A massive fireball that engulfed people scooping up fuel spilling from a pipeline ruptured by thieves in central Mexico killed dozens of people and badly burned many more Forensic experts working in the area an oil pipeline explosion in Tlahuelilpan Forensic experts work the area an oil pipeline explosion in Tlahuelilpan Mexico (AP) — Gerardo Perez returned Saturday to the scorched field in central Mexico where he’d seen an illegal pipeline tap burst into flames to see if he could recognize missing friends Only a handful of the remains still had skin Dozens were burned to the bone or to ash when the gusher of gasoline exploded Perez said he and his son bypassed soldiers and ignored warnings to stay clear of the geyser Friday evening in the town of Tlahuelilpan in Hidalgo state with the fireball engulfing locals collecting the spilling gasoline in buckets Video footage showed flames shooting high into the night sky and screaming people running from the explosion some themselves burning and waving their arms By Saturday evening the death toll had risen to 73 Officials said at least another 74 were injured and dozens more were missing Fifty-four bodies have yet to be identified Forensic experts were separating and counting charred heaps of corpses while anguished relatives of those presumed dead gathered around the scene of carnage Just a few feet from where the pipeline passed through an alfalfa field perhaps as they stumbled over each other or tried to help one another as the geyser of gasoline turned to flames Several of the deceased lay on their backs Some seemed to have covered their chests in a last attempt to protect themselves from the blast A few corpses seemed to embrace each other in death Lost shoes were scattered around a space the size of a soccer field as were half-melted plastic jugs the victims carried to gather spilling fuel forensic workers marked mounds of ash with numbers hundreds of people had gathered in an almost festive atmosphere in a field where a duct had been perforated by fuel thieves and gasoline spewed 20 feet into the air which supplies much of central Mexico with fuel had just reopened after being shut since Dec 23 and that it had been breached 10 times over three months The tragedy came just three weeks after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched an offensive against fuel theft gangs that have drilled dangerous illegal taps into pipelines an astounding 12,581 times in the first 10 months of 2018 The crackdown has led to widespread fuel shortages at gas stations throughout the country as Pemex deviates distribution Lopez Obrador vowed on Saturday to continue the fight against a practice that steals about $3 billion per year in fuel “We are going to eradicate that which not only causes material damages it is not only what the nation loses by this illegal trade He said the attorney general’s office will investigate whether the explosion was intentional — caused by an individual or group — or whether the fireball occurred due to the inherent risk of clandestine fuel extraction He called on townspeople to give testimony not only about Friday’s events in Hidalgo but about the entire black-market chain of fuel theft the people will also distance themselves from these practices,” he said Lopez Obrador faces an uphill fight against a practice that locals say is deeply rooted in the poor rural areas where pipelines pass Specialized fuel thieves who tap the lines usually cart their bounty off in trucks as the government cracks down on fuel theft rings the gangs have punctured pipelines and invited locals to help themselves is just 8 miles (13 kilometers) from Pemex’s Tula refinery Pemex Chief Executive Octavio Romero said an estimated 10,000 barrels of premium gasoline were rushing through the pipeline with 20 kilograms of pressure when it was ruptured Locals on Saturday expressed both sympathy and consternation toward the president’s war on fuel gangs Arely Calva Martinez said the recent shortages at gas stations raised the temptation to salvage fuel from the gusher was desperate for gas to drive 90 minutes back and forth to work when word spread via Facebook that fuel spewing into the field “I think if there had been gas in the gas stations many of these people wouldn’t have been here,” Calva Martinez said while holding a picture of her brothers Tears streamed down Erica Bautista’s cheeks as she held up her cellphone with pictures of her brother Valentin faced “enormous lines” for a limited ration of gas Then he received a phone call alerting him to the fuel spill “We want to at least find a cadaver,” she said while weeping Health officials were taking DNA samples from direct relatives at the local community center in Tlahuelilpan to aid in identification chilling list of the missing was taped to a window Hugo Olvera Estrada said he had gone to six nearby hospitals looking for his 13-year-old son who had joined the crowd at the fuel spill Lopez Obrador launched the offensive against illegal taps soon after taking office Dec deploying 3,200 marines to guard pipelines and refineries His administration also shut down pipelines to detect and deter illegal taps relying more on delivering fuel by tanker truck Mexican Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio said Saturday there are 50 soldiers stationed every 12 miles along the pipelines But the soldiers have been ordered not to engage with fuel thieves out of fear that an escalation could result in more shootings of unarmed civilians or more soldiers being beaten by a mob “We don’t want this sort of confrontation,” Cresencio said Officials say 25 military personnel arrived on the scene soon after the pipeline started spewing fuel on Friday hundreds of civilians came to fill containers with gasoline from a gusher shooting 20 feet (six meters) into the air A second pipeline burst into flames Friday in the neighboring state of Queretaro as a result of another illegal tap But in this fire there were no reported casualties authorities also blamed oil thieves for a pipeline explosion in a central Mexico near the capital that killed 28 people That blast burned people and scorched homes affecting 5,000 residents in an area six miles (10 kilometers) wide in San Martin Texmelucan Associated Press writer Amy Guthrie contributed to this story from Mexico City A network of correspondents providing impartial news reports and analysis in 33 languages from locations around the world Up-to-the-minute news and analysis from around the world and in Chicago Hosted by WBEZ's Mary Dixon and NPR's Steve Inskeep Newshour is the award-winning flagship program of the BBC World Service the world’s largest news gathering operation 1A convenes a conversation about the most important issues of our time smart reflection on world news as it’s happening innovators and artists from around the globe with news from Chicago from WBEZ’s Lisa Labuz Reset digs into how the news has moved since you left the house discussing and unpacking the biggest stories and 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relationships Your guide to examining how the media sausage is made Important ideas and practical advice: Code Switch features fearless and much-needed conversations about race—and Life Kit offers practical advice on things in life no one prepared you for Created by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX Reveal is public radio’s first one-hour radio show and podcast dedicated to investigative reporting A weekly program presented by the New Yorker magazine’s editor killer beats and the edgiest new talent in storytelling come together for a weekly show that straps audiences into an audio rollercoaster Radiolab is known for its deep-dive journalism and innovative sound design Created in 2002 by former host Jad Abumrad the program began as an exploration of scientific inquiry Over the years it has evolved to become a platform for long-form journalism and storytelling Radiolab is hosted by Lulu Miller and Latif Nasser In this image provided by the Secretary of National Defense The death toll from an oil pipeline explosion last Friday near the town of Tlahuelilpan Video from before the explosion shows hundreds of residents collecting spilled fuel from what the gas company Pemex called "the manipulation of an illegal tap." Dozens more people have been hospitalized a similar tragedy from illegal tapping killed 28 people including 13 children in San Martín Texmelucan and what many are calling in Mexico an “illegal tapping” epidemic is Laura Carlsen director of the Americas Program for the Center for International Policy based in Mexico City She hosts the online television program "Interviews from Mexico." She hosts the online television program "Interviews from Mexico." Firefighters work to extinguish a massive blaze triggered by a leaking pipeline in Tlahuelilpan Mexico's health minister said at least 89 people were killed a crackdown on fuel theft by the Mexican government has led to widespread gas shortages and miles-long lines at gas stations So when a pipeline in the state of Hidalgo burst open Friday area residents rushed to collect it in buckets and barrels Así comenzó la fuga de hidrocarburo sobre la carretera Tlahuelilpan-Juandhó en la comunidad de San Primitivo, municipio de #Tlahuelilpan vía @sandovalvictor https://t.co/E0CHDdzGnB pic.twitter.com/1mwMCeP5aU turning what had been an excited gathering into a hellish inferno Mexican Health Minister Jorge Alcocer said Monday morning that the number of dead in the incident had risen to 89 people Photos of the aftermath show a field littered with charred bodies as authorities investigate the scorched field in the city of Tlahuelilpan The leak was reportedly caused by an illicit pipeline tap. Last year, pipelines were illegally cracked into about 42 times a day in Mexico, according to The Associated Press. Those taps, along with theft by corrupt officials, accounted for more than $3 billion of fuel stolen from the state-run oil giant Pemex in 2018 according to President Andrés Manuel López Obrador López Obrador, who took office in December promising to fight fuel theft, said he was mobilizing his entire government to help those at the site of the disaster, and vowed to double down in his mission to cut back on the illegal siphoning of fuel "We will carry on until we eradicate this practice," he said The Mexican government's official Twitter account doubled down on the effort Sunday writing: "Nothing is more valuable than your safety and your life Avoid the purchase of illegal fuel and report any anomaly in your community." Video from before the explosion showed soldiers standing by as buoyant locals gathered around the leak. The country's public security minister reportedly said the troops had arrived at the scene to secure the pipeline, but withdrew because of the size of the crowd As NPR's Carrie Kahn has reported López Obrador has been using the military to try and get a handle on the rampant illegal tapping of state-run pipelines "The government said it dispatched 5,000 members of the armed services and federal police to guard points along the pipelines and Pemex distribution sites to cut down on the theft Armed escorts now accompany truck drivers on their routes." López Obrador shut down six pipelines to thwart the thieves and began trucking gas to stations a much securer but slower and costly alternative fuel shortages led to shuttered stations and long lines around the country." In recent years, fuel theft has grown from a common but de-centralized problem to a massive operation A federal police officer told Kahn that government employees are often involved in the racket: Last year the town of Tlanalapa's ambulance was confiscated after it was caught transporting dozens of plastic containers full of black-market gas Kahn reports that there's both an incentive for Mexicans to get into the fuel theft business Become an NPR sponsor is the nation's leader in illicit breaches of Pemex pipelines Fuel thieves known as huachicoleros last year drilled a record 2,121 illegal taps in the state That is more than a six-fold increase in just two years.Oil industry experts say Hidalgo's location is a big reason Situated to the north of the Mexican capital the state is home to Pemex's second-biggest oil refinery and critical pipelines supplying the giant Mexico City metro area.Fuel prices are a factor too the government of then-President Enrique Pena Nieto hiked prices by as much as 20 percent in a bid to end costly subsidies a move many in Tlahuelilpan say is driving theft.Since Lopez Obrador's term began on Dec the government says it has arrested 558 people accused of stealing fuel It has frozen bank accounts and deployed soldiers to guard key Pemex installations including the Tula refinery about 9 miles (15 km) southwest of Tlahuelilpan.While organized crime is a big player the president has reserved particular disdain for Pemex blaming crooked company insiders for much of the illicit trade."We're talking about a plan that has ties inside the government," he said during a Dec He told Reuters he visited the site of an illegal pipeline tap shortly after he was elected in 2016 Cruz said he watched as Pemex workers carefully covered up the tap without disabling it."What message did that send to me?" Cruz said "They were going to use it again."Cruz has faced questions too news reports linked him to a local warehouse that once was used to store stolen fuel He said Pemex solicited his help in finding temporary storage for gasoline recovered from crooks.In addition to arresting fuel thieves Lopez Obrador has launched a new 3,600 peso ($189) monthly scholarship for unemployed Mexican youth a program he has pitched as a way to address the root causes of crime.But some townspeople in Tlahuelilpan doubt it will dissuade many young people from seizing what some see as their only opportunity to get ahead.Mariano Hernandez said some fuel thieves can clear as much as 10,000 pesos ($525) daily."They say 'I'd rather make a lot of money for one or two years than live many years in poverty,'" Hernandez said.The president's steepest challenge may be persuading people such as Magali Ortiz that fuel theft is worthy of such high-profile scrutiny.Her husband Omar Vasquez died in the conflagration Two other relatives are missing.Stealing fuel is "not a crime," Ortiz said "It's a job."Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Dan Flynn and Marla Dickerson Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved You don't have permission to access the page you requested. What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed. An explosion and fire in central Mexico killed at least 73 people after hundreds swarmed to the site of an illegal fuel-line tap to gather gasoline amid a government crackdown on fuel theft, officials said. Hidalgo state governor Omar Fayad announced that the toll had increased to 73 after the discovery of five additional bodies. The blast -- which Fayad said injured 74 people -- occurred near Tlahuelilpan, a town of 20,000 people about an hour's drive north of Mexico City. As soldiers guarded the devastated, still-smoking scene, forensic specialists in white suits worked among the blackened corpses -- many frozen in the unnatural positions in which they had fallen -- and grim-eyed civilians stepped cautiously along in a desperate search for missing relatives. The pungent smell of fuel hung in the air. Fragments of burnt clothing were strewn through the charred brush. When the forensic workers began attempting to load corpses into vans to be transported to funeral homes, some 30 villagers tried to stop them. They demanded their relatives' bodies, saying funeral homes were too expensive. The bodies were ultimately taken to a morgue, authorities said. (function(v,d,o,ai){ai=d.createElement("script");ai.defer=true;ai.async=true;ai.src=v.location.protocol+o;d.head.appendChild(ai);})(window, document, "//a.vdo.ai/core/v-ndtv/vdo.ai.js"); On Friday, when authorities heard that fuel traffickers had punctured the pipeline, an army unit of about 25 soldiers arrived and attempted to block off the area, Defence Secretary Luis Crescencio Sandoval told reporters. But the soldiers were unable to contain the estimated 700 civilians -- including entire families -- who swarmed in to collect the spilled gasoline in jerrycans and buckets, witnesses said. The armed soldiers had been moved away from the pipeline to avoid any risk of confrontation with the crowd when the blast occurred, some two hours after the pipeline was first breached, Sandoval said. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist who took office only weeks ago, traveled to the scene early Saturday. He did not fault the soldiers, saying, "The attitude of the army was correct. It is not easy to impose order on a crowd." He vowed to continue fighting the growing problem of fuel theft. "I am deeply saddened by the suffering in Tlahuelilpan," Lopez Obrador wrote on Twitter. He called on his "whole government" to extend assistance. The US Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, tweeted that her department "stands ready to assist the first responders and the Mexican government in any way possible." Video taken in the aftermath showed screaming people fleeing the scene as an enormous fire lit up the night sky. "I went just to see what was happening, and then the explosion happened. I rushed to help people," Fernando Garcia, 47, told AFP. "I had to claw through pieces of people who had already been burned to bits." The tragedy comes during a highly publicized federal government war on fuel theft, a problem that cost Mexico an estimated $3 billion in 2017. Acting attorney general Alejandro Gertz described the latest disaster as "intentional" because "someone caused that leak. And the fire was a consequence of the crime." But he acknowledged that investigators would be hampered by the fact that "the people closest to the explosion died." Federal and state firefighters and ambulances run by state oil company Pemex rushed to help victims with burns and take the injured to hospitals. Local medical facilities struggled to cope with the flood of arriving victims, said AFP correspondents at the scene. The fire had been brought under control by around midnight Friday, the security ministry said. Pemex said it was also responding to another fire at a botched pipeline tap in the central state of Queretaro, though in that case there were no victims. Mexico is regularly rocked by deadly explosions at illegal pipeline taps, a dangerous but lucrative business whose players include powerful drug cartels and corrupt Pemex insiders. Fayad said that two hours after the pipeline was punctured, "we were informed that there had been an explosion" and the flames "were consuming everything around." About 15 oil pipeline explosions and fires causing more than 50 fatalities each have occurred around the world since 1993. Most were in Nigeria, where in 1998 more than 1,000 people died in such a blast. A fire after a pipeline rupture in Brazil killed more than 500 people in 1984. The tragedy comes as anti-corruption crusader Lopez Obrador presses implementation of a controversial fuel theft prevention plan. The government has shut off major pipelines until they can be fully secured and deployed the army to guard Pemex production facilities. But the strategy to fight the problem led to severe gasoline and diesel shortages across much of the country, including Mexico City, forcing people to queue for hours -- sometimes days -- to fill up their vehicles. The president, who took office on December 1, has vowed to keep up the fight and asked Mexicans to be patient. At the scene, some locals blamed the shortages for the tragedy. "A lot of people arrived with their jerrycans because of the gasoline shortages we've had," said Martin Trejo, 55, who was searching for his son, one of those who had gone to collect the leaking fuel. He also lashed out at the army for failing to stop the looters. "These lives would have been saved if they had done their jobs to remove people and not let them get close. They never did anything." Tanker trucks are being used to deliver fuel, but experts say there are not nearly enough of them. Mexican bank Citibanamex estimated Wednesday that the shortages would cost Latin America's second-largest economy around $2 billion, "if conditions return to normal in the coming days." The roots of the fuel theft problem run deep in Mexico, where the practice -- known locally as "huachicoleo," or moonshining -- is big business for some communities.  2/7 A wall of flames silhouettes fuel containers left behind when a ruptured gasoline pipeline exploded in Tlahuelilpan 3/7 Soldiers stand guard before a wall of fire after an explosion of an illegal tap on a Pemex pipeline in Tlahuilipan 4/7 An injured person is transferred to a helicopter near the fire scene in Tlahuelilpan 5/7 Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador arrives in Tlahuelilpan after the explosion 6/7 People watch from a distance as the fire rages at the Pemex pipeline in Tlahuilipan 7/7 Firefighters extinguish hot spots near where the bodies of victims lay after the pipeline explosion in Tlahuelilpan Print Reporting from Tlahuelilpan Mexico — Stunned relatives searched for signs of loved ones Saturday at the site of a gas pipeline that exploded in central Mexico as it was being illegally tapped killing at least 73 people and injuring dozens more In a fire-blackened field near the town of Tlahuelilpan shoes and other items that those fleeing Friday’s blast had torn off in a desperate bid to survive “I came here in the night looking for my son walking through charred bodies lying on the ground,” said Martin Francisco Trejo Hernandez I never imagined I would see such a sight.” the 34-year-old father of a 6-year-old girl The blast exposed both the inherent risks of fuel theft, which has caused large blasts in the past, and how rampant the practice has become. It also represented a new political crisis for Lopez Obrador, whose efforts to stop fuel theft have prompted anger because they have created gas shortages around the country. Residents of Tlahuelilpan who were at the blast site on Saturday acknowledged that the siphoning of gasoline from pipelines had become commonplace. “In these towns, we all have a relative or friend who is dedicated to this,” said Jesus Cesar Vera Velazquez, 43. “But they do it out of necessity, because of hunger. There’s no work here, and people earn very little farming.” “Here, even the mayor protects huachicol [black-market gasoline],” said Ruben Cruz, 51, a farmer. “Authorities here receive money from huachicol. It pays very well and it’s an opportunity to have some money, enjoy a better life.” Pemex chief executive Octavio Romero Oropeza said the pipeline where the explosion occurred had been subject to at least 10 breaches in the past three months. The first 911 call reporting the breach on Friday came in just after 5 p.m., authorities said. Soon, as many as 800 people had converged on the site to gather gasoline, which gushed like a geyser from the ruptured pipeline more than 20 feet into the air, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, Mexico’s defense secretary, told reporters Saturday. Videos showed children and families at the site as men hauled jerrycans of fuel away, with some gatherers saturated with the flowing fuel. Around 7 p.m., something triggered a massive explosion. In such a volatile environment, any form of friction — even from clothing — could have ignited the vapors, according to authorities on the scene. Videos of the blast showed people engulfed in flames screaming as they ran from the fire, and badly burned victims whose clothes appeared to have been seared off by flames. At least 74 people were hospitalized, according to Omar Fayad, governor of Hidalgo state. Officials said many of them were in critical condition. Videos taken before the blast showed soldiers standing around the scene who did not appear to make efforts to disperse the mob. Cresencio, the defense secretary, sought to justify the military’s actions, saying the small number of soldiers had been unable to deter a sometimes “aggressive” crowd. On previous occasions, Cresencio noted, people collecting black-market gasoline from ruptured fuel lines have attacked soldiers and police. Lopez Obrador toured the blast site Saturday. At a news conference, he vowed only to intensify his efforts to combat fuel thieves. “We have to continue with the plan to end the robbery of fuel,” López Obrador told reporters. “We are not going to stop — we are going to eradicate this.” Friday’s blast intensified the already heated debate over the president’s efforts to end what he calls the “scourge” of fuel theft, an illicit industry that has grown in recent years and is controlled by some of the country’s most powerful and violent criminal groups. The president, a leftist populist elected last year on an anti-corruption platform, has complained that fuel theft costs Mexico $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion annually. Members of the military and Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned petroleum company, have been accused of taking bribes to look the other way as thieves drill into pipes and resell the fuel on the black market. Lopez Obrador’s efforts to divert fuel from pipelines frequently targeted by thieves and transport more fuel by tanker truck have sparked shortages around the country, with hours-long wait times at some pumping stations. Critics of the president say his plan has been poorly executed and is unrealistic, as unlikely to succeed as former President Felipe Calderon’s 2006 decision to put soldiers on the streets to do away with drug cartels, a strategy that increased violence nationwide, leading to tens of thousands of deaths, while failing to diminish the drug trade. Some blamed Lopez Obrador for Friday’s explosion. Trending Saturday on Twitter was a hashtag that referred to the president an “assassin.” Others defended the president, saying the pipeline tragedy simply underscored the risks of fuel theft. “The huachicoleros are murderers,” tweeted Epigmenio Ibarra, a well-known television producer and vocal supporter of the president. “They will not go unpunished,” he said. “They will not be able to defeat Lopez Obrador.” The president expressed sympathy for people in towns and rural areas that have come to rely on the illegal fuel trade. Many, he said, had “no alternatives” because of the widespread poverty and lack of opportunity in their regions. The president said he would visit the pipeline zones in the coming days and outline an alternate economic development plan, including low-interest loans, for them. At the scene of the blast, some angry relatives of the missing expressed outrage at the president’s plan. Others staggered around in a profound sense of shock and mourning. Gloria Lopez de la Cruz, 38, said she was looking for her husband, Porfirio Hernandez, 40. “I can’t find him anywhere. He is not in any of the hospitals or listed among the dead,” said De la Cruz, who could not hold back tears. Her brother-in-law survived with burns and was in a hospital, added De la Cruz, who said she regretted not having stopped her husband from visiting the pipeline the night before. Hernandez went to see what was happening out of “curiosity” after seeing people carrying plastic jugs filled with gasoline, she said. “I should never have allowed him to come,” she said. “Now I am full of regrets.” The fields through which the pipeline courses displayed evidence of the disaster. The ditch marking the pipeline route was scorched on both sides. Murky gasoline pooled at various spots, posing an ongoing hazard. Pemex crews were there, working to fix the duct and remove leaked gasoline. In a corner of an alfalfa field was evidence of the desperate attempted escape of two people, a man and a women. His burned and grimy jeans were heaped on one pile; still attached was a leather belt with a silver-toned buckle, embossed with the image of a horse. A few feet away lay the seared and melted remains of a woman’s blouse or dress and underwear. Both had apparently tossed off their burning garments in panic as they hastened to escape the fiery holocaust. McDonnell reported from Tlahuelilpan and Linthicum from Mexico City. Cecilia Sanchez of The Times’ Mexico City bureau and special correspondent Liliana Nieto del Rio contributed to this report. Foreign correspondent Patrick J. McDonnell is the Los Angeles Times Mexico City bureau chief and previously headed Times bureaus in Beirut, Buenos Aires and Baghdad. A native of the Bronx, McDonnell is a graduate of Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and was a Nieman fellow at Harvard. Kate Linthicum is a foreign correspondent for the Los Angeles Times based in Mexico City. World & Nation California Hollywood Inc. Subscribe for unlimited accessSite Map People rolled in a field of alfalfa to smother the flames that engulfed them The accident killed at least 98 people; 48 are in hospital Just as in the United States, working-class and immigrant voters swung right The Conservatives suffered one of the most astonishing falls from popularity in political history An interview with Evo Morales in his tropical highland stronghold MAGA bombast has upended Canada’s political universe and given Mark Carney’s Liberals an edge Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau’s toxic legacy have pushed Canadians to the centre Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker An investigation is underway into the cause of a deadly gasoline pipeline explosion on Friday '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" Mexico — Diego Pena Linares arrived at a cultural center here Sunday to post a picture of his 21-year-old brother Cesar on a list of “disappeared” — those still missing two days after a gas pipeline explosion that killed at least 85 people “I can’t find my brother in the hospital or anyplace else,” said a distraught Pena outside the center which has become an information hub for relatives of blast victims in this sunbaked agricultural town about 50 miles north of Mexico City and local authorities were at a loss to explain where victims had been taken desperate families bounced from hospitals to funeral homes Success seemed to come down to luck or persistence Pena and his mother visited hospitals in Mexico City — two hours by public bus from their home here in rural Hidalgo state — until they found another brother unconscious and in critical condition with burns over 80% of his body He said both brothers were among the hundreds of people gathered in an alfalfa field late Friday to collect gasoline from a pipeline that had been illegally tapped — a common practice in rural Mexico — when the explosion sent a geyser of fire 20 feet into the air The government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said that all is being done for the victims and their families Those officially listed as missing number 71 and range in age from 13 to 58 according to a list posted at the cultural center told reporters Sunday that the deteriorated state of most of the bodies means it could take weeks or months to identify many victims Local hospitals aren’t equipped to deal with severe burn cases and many families here don’t have cars to travel to Mexico City Those with vehicles face another obstacle: fuel shortages stemming from an effort launched this month by Lopez Obrador to stop rampant fuel theft by temporarily shutting off certain pipelines and moving more gasoline by trucks Some began their searches in the scorched field looking for clothing or other belongings left behind as people dropped their gas canisters “It has been a calvary for all of us to look for our relatives — and find nothing,” said Alfredo Vargas “We already went to the place of the explosion One of his stops was El Angel funeral home in the nearby town of Tula Situated next to a gas station and across the street from a window repair shop on a busy road it appears to be the principal site where Mexican authorities have taken bodies the funeral home had received 68 bodies from the explosion standing behind a desk in a showroom lined with shiny new caskets “Almost all of these people are completely burned Face-to-face identification is impossible.” The funeral home staff has been taking cellphone photographs of personal items found on the charred corpses and showing them to families of the missing a pipe — anything that might help a relative make an identification But it quickly became clear how little the funeral home staff had to go on “Is anyone missing someone with crooked teeth?” one employee wearing blue plastic gloves asked families waiting on the sidewalk Many seemed bewildered by the question but continued to linger in a vague hope that they may learn anything “I spent the night in the funeral home waiting for any word on my brother but they didn’t tell us anything,” said Angeles Garcia “We go from one place to another and nothing gets resolved.… I don’t think they [authorities] understand the pain that has overtaken us the desperation to know about our families.” Mexican authorities began the process of DNA identification asking kin to provide samples that could be matched to the victims Relatives of the missing are required to travel to a prosecutor’s office eight miles away in the town of Mixquiahuala to provide four “complete body” color photographs of the vanished person and the ID of the person’s mother — and later return to give a genetic sample “This whole situation has been very painful,” said Ernesto Antonio Olguin a city worker in Tula who was hoping to jump on a shuttle being arranged to Mexico City to see his uncle Both went to the pipeline to get free gasoline which Olguin said the pair needed for their vehicles to get to work they were both there at the moment of the explosion.” hundreds of townsfolk gathered at the local cemetery for the funerals of the first three victims to be buried One of those victims was Cesar Jimenez Brito a 42-year-old father of three who owned an auto repair shop He went by the nickname El Zorro — the Fox — and was well-known for offering credit to customers Huge wreaths flanked the coffins and a local band provided mostly upbeat tunes “Play ‘La Vida No Vale Nada’!” shouted one mourner made a plea not to call the victims huachicoleros “Everyone here had a relative or acquaintance lost in this tragedy,” she said McDonnell is a Times staff writer and Sanchez a special correspondent Special correspondent Liliana Nieto del Rio contributed to this report patrick.mcdonnell@latimes.com Twitter: @PmcdonnellLAT A huge blast at a gasoline pipeline on Friday evening killed at least 66 people in Central Mexico and injured at least 76 others. The death toll could rise considering “many of the gravely wounded are battling between life and death,” the governor of Hidalgo state, Omar Fayad, said Video posted online showed how moments before the blast, dozens of people had gathered at the illegal tap to fill buckets and other containers with fuel Although there was military personnel on hand video shows they stayed on the sidelines with officials explaining that the number of troops were not enough to stop all the people who had gathered at the site of the illegal tap which marked a 45 percent increase from the previous year we have to continue with the plan to end fuel theft,” the president said at a news conference We will eradicate this.” He also defended the army from claims that soldiers should have done more to prevent the tragedy in the first place On Twitter, Fayad called on citizens to not take fuel from illegally tapped lines. “What happened today in Tlahuelilpan should not be repeated,” he said. This was the deadliest pipeline explosion in Mexico in recent history after at least 27 people were killed in 2010 in a blast that officials also say was caused by an illegal tap of a pipeline. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice At least 71 people have been killed after a pipeline exploded in central Mexico. More than 85 other people were listed as missing a day after the blaze in the town of Tlahuelilpan The pipeline was ruptured by suspected fuel thieves according to state and federal authorities Dozens of people had been trying to fill up buckets plastic jugs and garbage cans with spilling petrol when the fire broke out on Friday evening Mexican television footage showed large flames and screaming people running away from the blaze Images showed people at the scene with severe burns as the government sent in ambulances and doctors to treat the victims It came just weeks after new president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched a major crackdown on fuel theft, which the government has said cost the country more than $3bn (£2.3bn) last year. Hidalgo state police said the leak was first reported at about 5pm local time. “Residents were on the scene trying to obtain fuel,” according to a police report. Two hours later, the pipeline burst into flames. Marciel Cervantes fears his brother, Isaac Aurelio Cervantes, is among those lost in Friday’s blast. He found the 26-year-old’s car parked on the road next to the field, and said his brother has not answered his phone. The ruptured pipeline was near the Tula refinery of Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, Mexico’s state-owned company, which in a statement blamed the incident on illegal tapping. And another pipeline burst into flames in the neighbouring state of Queretaro on Friday, because of an illegal tap. However, Pemex said the fire near San Juan del Rio posed “no risk to human beings”. The explosion in Tlahuelilpan was one of the worst in recent history in a country that has suffered hundreds of illegal ruptures to its network of oil and gas pipelines. Omar Fayad, Hidalgo’s governor, warned that the number of victims could still rise depending on what emergency services discovered where the blaze had been hottest. On Twitter, Mr Fayad said: “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.” Mr Lopez Obrador tweeted: “I greatly lament the grave situation Tlahuelilpan is suffering because of the explosion of the duct.” He called on all branches of government to assist the victims. The president, who took office in December, has deployed 3,200 marines to guard pipelines and refineries as part of his crackdown on illegal taps. His administration has also shut down pipelines to detect and deter illegal taps, relying more on delivering fuel by tanker truck. However, there are not enough trucks, which has caused long lines at gas stations in several states. Mr Lopez Obrador, who has said he will step up the security presence in sensitive areas, said: “Far from stopping the fight ... against fuel theft, it’s going to become stronger, we’ll continue until we’ve eradicated these practices.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies TLAHUELILPAN, Mexico — People in the town where a gasoline explosion killed at least 79 people say the section of pipeline that gushed fuel has been a habitual gathering site for thieves, repeatedly damaged and patched like a trusty pair of jeans. "It was the popular tap," said Enrique Cerron, 22, who lives near the field. "You could pass by at 11 or 12 in the morning and see people filling up here." On Friday, amid countrywide fuel shortages at gas stations as the government attempts to stem widespread fuel theft, this particular section of pipeline had come back into service after being offline for nearly four weeks when somebody punctured the line again. Word quickly spread through the community of 20,000 people that gas was flowing. Come one, come all. Hundreds showed up at the spigot, carrying plastic jugs and covering their faces with bandanas. A few threw rocks and swung sticks at soldiers who tried to shoo them away. Some fuel collectors brought their children along. Tlahuelilpan is a largely agrarian community located 90 minutes by car from the capital and just 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the state-run Tula oil refinery. It's surrounded by verdant alfalfa fields and power plant stacks, and is reasonably affluent by rural Mexican standards. Hidalgo state data shows about half the community lives in moderate poverty, in line with the national average. At first the gasoline leak was manageable, locals say, emitting a tame fountain of fuel that allowed for filling small buckets at a time. But as the crowd swelled to more than 600, people became impatient. That's when a man rammed a piece of rebar into a patch, according to Irma Velasco, who lives near the alfalfa field where the explosion took place, and gasoline shot 20 feet (6 meters) into the air, like water from a geyser. A carnival atmosphere took over. Giddy adults soaked in gasoline filled jugs and passed them to runners. Families and friends formed human chains and guard posts to stockpile containers with fuel. For nearly two hours, more than a dozen soldiers stood guard on the outskirts of the field, warning civilians not to go near. Officials say the soldiers were outnumbered and their instructions were to not intervene. Only a week earlier, people in a different town had beaten some soldiers who tried to stop them from gorging on state-owned fuel. The lure of free fuel was irresistible for many: They came like moths to a flame, parking vehicles on a nearby road. The smell of gas grew stronger and stronger as thousands of barrels spewed. Those closest to the gusher apparently became delirious, intoxicated by fumes. Townspeople stumbled about. The night filled with an eerie mist, a mixture of cool mountain air and fine particles of gasoline. Velasco said she rushed to aid a man she saw staggering along the road and away from the gusher. She removed his gas-drenched clothes to help alleviate the overwhelming stench of toxic fuel. Then she helped another young man, who described to her how the geyser had erupted. Cerron was at the heart of the mayhem when he sensed mounting danger. He pulled a 70-year-old man out of a ditch where gasoline was pooling; the man had passed out from the vapors. Then Cerron, a student, decided it was time to go home. "They looked like zombies trying to get all that gasoline out," says Cerron. He passed soldiers warning would-be scavengers to stay away. It's going to explode, they said. And it did. Once home, Cerron turned for one last glance at the gusher. Instead he saw flames. The fireball that engulfed those scooping up gasoline underscores the dangers of the epidemic of fuel theft that Mexico's new president has vowed to fight. By Sunday morning the death toll from Friday's blaze had risen to 79, with another 81 hospitalized, according to federal Health Minister Jorge Alcocer. Dozens more were missing. Soldiers formed a perimeter around an area the size of a soccer field where townspeople were incinerated by the fireball, reduced to clumps of ash and bones. Officials suggested Sunday that fields like this, where people were clearly complicit with the crime of fuel theft, could be seized by the government. But Attorney General Alejandro Gertz ruled out bringing charges against townspeople who merely collected spilled fuel, and in particular those hospitalized for burns. "Look, we are not going to victimize the communities," he said. "We are going to search for those responsible for the acts that have generated this tragedy." The disaster came just three weeks after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched an offensive against fuel theft gangs that had drilled dangerous, illegal taps into pipelines an astounding 12,581 times in the first 10 months of 2018, an average of about 42 per day. The crackdown has led to fuel scarcity at gas stations throughout the country due to shifts in distribution, both licit and illicit. Officials say pipeline in and around Tlahuelilpan has been perforated 10 times over the past three months. Lopez Obrador vowed on Sunday to continue the fight against a practice that results in about $3 billion per year in stolen fuel. Legally, that fuel belongs to the Mexican people, with state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, acting as custodian. But Pemex has long been plagued by corruption. Lopez Obrador described the company on Sunday as "at the service of people without scruples," saying Pemex had been kidnapped by "a gang of ruffians," referring to crooked government officials and executives within the company. Lopez Obrador faces an uphill fight against a practice that has become an economic salve for poor rural areas where pipelines pass, covered by only a foot or two of dirt. Gangs recruit locals who then rally support from the community via gifts or threats of violence. Storage sheds and warehouses dot the region, with landowners earning extra income from the rent or gifts of fuel. The president plans a tour next week to several towns outside Mexico City where fuel theft has become entrenched in the local economy. He promises jobs and financial aid as an alternative for communities along pipelines that are somewhat dependent on income from fuel theft rings. "Mexico needs to end corruption," Lopez Obrador said Sunday. "This is not negotiable." Lopez Obrador launched the offensive against illegal taps soon after taking office Dec. 1, deploying 3,200 marines to guard pipelines and refineries. His administration also shut down pipelines to detect and deter illegal taps, relying more on delivering fuel by tanker truck. Another pipeline burst into flames Friday in the neighboring state of Queretaro as a result of another illegal tap. But there were no reported casualties. In December 2010, authorities blamed thieves for a pipeline explosion in the central Mexico state of Puebla, not far from the capital, that killed 28 people, including 13 children. 20192:10 PM UTCDeadly blast at fuel pipeline in MexicoAt least 66 people were killed after a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves exploded in Mexico as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador defended the army despite its failure to clear the site before the blast [1/24]People gather at the site of a ruptured pipeline in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan Veronica Monroy/Diario Plaza Juarez/via REUTERS [3/24]Forensic technicians work at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured [8/24]A soldier keeps watch at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured who died during the explosion of a fuel pipeline ruptured by oil thieves holds hands with her daughter during his funeral service at the cemetery in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan [10/24]Forensic technicians tag bodies at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [11/24]A man carries a charred bicycle at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [12/24]Residents search for human remains and items that could help to identify their missing relatives and friends [13/24]Forensic technicians work at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [14/24]Forensic technicians work at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [15/24]A forensic technician and an employee of a funeral parlor place a body into a truck at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [16/24]Forensic technicians and ministerial policemen work at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [17/24]Forensic technicians work at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [18/24]Forensic technicians work at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [19/24]A resident reacts at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [20/24]Employees of a funeral parlor remove a body from the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [21/24]Residents watch forensic technicians working at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [22/24]A forensic technician works at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [23/24]A resident reacts at the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded [24/24]People react at the scene where a ruptured fuel pipeline exploded near the Tula refinery of state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) At least 66 people were killed after a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves exploded in central Mexico as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador defended the army.. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved Mexico (Reuters) - At least 73 people were killed after a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves exploded in central Mexico as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador defended the army despite its failure to clear the site before the blast.Forensic experts filled body bags with charred human remains in the field where the explosion occurred on Friday evening by the town of Tlahuelilpan in the state of Hidalgo in one of the deadliest incidents to hit Mexico's troubled oil infrastructure in years.One witness described how an almost festive atmosphere among hundreds of local residents filling containers with spilled fuel turned to horror as the blast scattered the crowd in all directions incinerating clothing and inflicting severe burns.A number of people at the scene told Reuters that local shortages in gasoline supply since Lopez Obrador launched a drive to stamp out fuel theft had encouraged the rush to the gushing pipeline."Everyone came to see if they could get a bit of gasoline for their car there isn't any in the gas stations," said farmer Isaias Garcia but waited in the car some distance away."Some people came out burning and screaming," he added.To root out the theft Lopez Obrador in late December ordered pipelines to be closed But that led to shortages in central Mexico where local media this week said more than half of the gas stations were at times shut.Hidalgo Governor Omar Fayad said 73 people were killed and 74 people injured in the explosion which happened as residents scrambled to get buckets and drums to a gush at the pipeline that authorities said rose up to 23 feet (7 meters) high.Fayad said the condition of many of the injured was deteriorating and that some had burns on much of their body Some of the most badly injured minors could be moved for medical attention in Galveston who vowed to continue the crackdown on theft defended the army in the face of questions about why soldiers failed to prevent the tragedy."We're not going to fight fire with fire," the veteran leftist said and if we've reached these extremes .. it's because they were abandoned."In the aftermath soldiers and other military personnel guarded the cordoned-off area that was littered with half-burned shoes clothes and containers.More than 100 people gathered at a local cultural center on Saturday afternoon hoping to get information about loved ones who disappeared Officials posted information about DNA tests for identification and a list of people taken to hospital.'LIKE A PARTY'Lopez Obrador said the army had been right to avoid a confrontation due to the large number of people seeking to make off with a trove of free fuel - a few liters of which are worth more than the daily minimum wage in Mexico.Blaming previous governments for neglecting the population he said the priority was to eradicate the social problems and lack of opportunities that had made people risk their lives He rejected suggestions the incident was linked to his policy.Still Lopez Obrador had vowed to tighten security in sensitive sections of the oil infrastructure and the ruptured pipeline was only a few miles away from a major oil refinery.Pemex's Chief Executive Octavio Romero told reporters that there had been 10 illegal fuel taps in the same municipality in the last three months alone Neither he nor the president said exactly when the valves to the pipeline were closed.Relatives of victims stood huddled together Much of the rush to siphon off fuel and the chaos of the explosion was captured on mobile phones and began quickly circulating on social media.Mexican media published graphic pictures of victims from the blast site covered in burns and shorn of their clothes.Local journalist Veronica Jimenez arrived at the scene before the explosion where she said there were more than 300 people with containers to collect fuel."I saw families: mother "It was like a party...for a moment you could even hear how happy people were."When the blast hit she said."Some people's skin came off...it was very ugly "They shouted the names of their husbands their family members."Grief-stricken family members blocked access to the field for over half an hour saying they would not let funeral service vehicles pass until they were told where the dead were being taken.Lopez Obrador has said his decision to close pipelines has greatly reduced fuel theft but the death toll has raised questions about potentially unintended consequences."There was a gasoline shortage people one way or another wanted to be able to move around," said local farmer Ernesto Sierra "Some even came with their bean pots."Reporting by Anthony Esposito and Miguel Angel Gutierrez; Writing by Dave Graham and Christine Murray; Editing by Alexander Smith and Marguerita Choy READ MOREFireball at illegal Mexico pipeline tap kills 66; 85 missingby MARK STEVENSON Mexico (AP) — Forensic experts attempted to separate and count charred heaps of corpses in central Mexico on Saturday after a massive fireball erupted at an illegal pipeline tap More than 85 other people on Saturday were listed as missing as relatives of the deceased and onlookers gathered around the scene of carnage perhaps as they stumbled over each other or tried to help one another in the moments after a geyser of gasoline shot into the air Friday The leak was caused by an illegal pipeline tap in the small town of Tlahuelilpan according to state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos Video footage showed dozens of people in an almost festive atmosphere gathered in a field where a duct had been breached by fuel thieves Footage then showed flames shooting high into the air against a night sky and the pipeline ablaze Some seemed to have covered their chests in a last attempt to protect themselves from the flames; another few black-charred corpses seemed to embrace each other in death Lost shoes were scattered around the scorched field as were plastic jugs and jerry cans that the victims had carried to gather spilling fuel where is my son?" wailed Hugo Olvera Estrada the man had already gone to six local hospitals looking for his child After returning home from middle school yesterday the boy went to join the crowd scooping up gasoline Olvera Estrada believed he was influenced by older and supposedly wise men from the town of about 20,000 "The older men brought him," he said The tragedy came just three weeks after new President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched an offensive against fuel theft gangs that have drilled dangerous In an early morning press conference Saturday Lopez Obrador vowed to continue the fight against the $3 billion-per-year illegal fuel theft industry "We are going to eradicate that which not only causes material damages He said the attorney general's office will investigate whether the explosion was intentional — caused by an individual or group — or whether the fireball occurred due to the inherent risk of clandestine fuel extraction He also called on townspeople to give testimony not only about Friday's events in Hidalgo state who informs locals about collecting fuel in containers and how fuel is then put to personal use or sold The war against fuel theft was a theme repeated by people in Tlahuelilpan which is crossed by pipelines and located just a few miles from a refinery "What happened here should serve as an example for the whole nation to unite behind the fight that the president is carrying out against this ill," said municipal health director Jorge Aguilar Lopez Another pipeline burst into flames earlier Friday in the neighboring state of Queretaro as a result of another illegal tap Pemex said the fire near the city of San Juan del Rio was "in an unpopulated area and there is no risk to human beings." and long lines at gas stations have plagued several states chilling list of the missing was taped outside the window of the local clinic where dozens of relatives waited for news in their search for loved ones is among those lost in Friday's blast He found the 26-year-old's car parked on the road next to the field and said his brother hasn't answered his cellphone "The people already know what they're getting into with this," he said as he wrapped a blanket tightly around himself against the cold "But they don't understand." On March 2, the 135th victim of a mid-January explosion in the town Tlahuelilpan in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo died at a hospital in Mexico City The blast occurred as people collected gasoline from a breached pipeline Mexican soldiers were filmed looking on at the site hours before the explosion and were criticized for not clearing people away from the volatile spill you can see how the effort has put troops and civilians at odds For some time, fuel theft was largely done by local thieves or by people from rural and isolated communities who used stolen fuel for their own needs or sold it to supplement their income.  the lucrative nature of fuel theft — smuggling and reselling stolen fuel is often easier than illegal narcotics — has drawn in organized criminal groups which bring a greater ability to corrupt and larger capacity for violence to the trade Organized criminal groups are able to use their connections to and control over law enforcement or Pemex workers to steal whole shipments in tanker trucks Source: Justice in Mexico project after an operation in the area seized thousands of liters of stolen fuel residents in the area set up blockades with burning cars The cartel denied hanging the banner threatening Lopez Obrador saying it was put up by rivals trying to attract attention from authorities Narcomantas, as these banners are known, have appeared throughout Mexico's war on drugs hung by groups to claim credit for themselves or to cast attention on rivals Mexicans have protested in other areas where troops have been deployed to prevent fuel theft "When Lopez Obrador moved these people into those areas former chief of international operations for the US Drug Enforcement Administration "The reason I think that the protest for the most part occurred is because they didn't want them there because a lot of them were involved in the theft of petroleum." Source: Animal Politico "It's very hard for people to change," Pedro Mendez who sells household goods in Santa Rosa de Lima as heavily armed police patrolled and helicopters circled above "The bad guys know how to get to them and that there are people who'll take money to do their bidding." though authorities said Wednesday they captured seven people linked to him Authorities said the operation also recovered stolen vehicles and freed six kidnapping victims Guanajuato had long avoided the violence that has plagued much of Mexico over the past decade but the number of homicides there has climbed precipitously in recent years There were 957 homicides in the state in 2015 That rose to 1,096 in 2016 and to 1,423 in 2017 There were 293 homicides in the state in January 2019 alone Guanajuato's rising violence has been driven by fuel theft and conflict among criminal groups, mainly the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel and the Jalisco New Generation cartel, Bosworth wrote in a mid-February report. many while gathering illegally tapped fuel 1/7 A crew from the state oil company Pemex works the burn area Saturday after the pipeline explosion in Tlahuelilpan Print Reporting from Mexico City — At least 21 people were killed and 71 others injured Friday when an explosion occurred in Mexico’s central Hidalgo state at a fuel pipeline that had been illegally tapped The fatal blast came as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has sent thousands of troops and police to guard pipelines as part of a major effort to eliminate rampant fuel theft The president has also accused fuel thieves — known here as huachicoleros — of sabotaging fuel lines in a bid to thwart the government crackdown Lopez Obrador rushed to the scene in the early morning hours and said the tragedy would not alter his crackdown on fuel theft Images circulating on social media and on television showed horrific scenes of what appeared to be calcified bodies and badly burned victims whose clothes had been seared off at the site of the explosion — a rural zone in the town of Tlahuelilpan Some victims had burns over 40% to 90% of their bodies 2019-01-18: Video of moment of the #Tlahuelilpan explosion as dozens illegally siphoned gasoline from a Pemex pipeline due to gas shortage hysteria currently besieging Mexico and being exploited by #huachicoleros. pic.twitter.com/vwoAJEh3B9 Residents had descended on the rural site about 5 p.m. with containers to collect gasoline gushing from the perforated pipeline, according to cellphone images circulating on Mexican media. The ruptured line burst into flame about 7 p.m., authorities said, as many people were still at the site seeking to collect free fuel It was not immediately clear what sparked the explosion Footage aired on Mexican TV showed people running and screaming for help as flames shot from the ruptured pipeline Firefighters were still trying to douse the remnants of the fire some five hours later distraught residents were making the rounds of hospitals seeking relatives who had been whisked away in ambulances and helicopters Fuel theft has been a problem in Mexico for decades but has increased in recent years as drug cartels have moved into the lucrative business siphon off the fuel and sell it on the black market The huachicoleros have an extensive network of trucks and storage facilities a broad distribution system and knowledge of how to tap into high-pressure pipelines The black-market gasoline is often sold openly on streets and along roadsides local politicians and representatives and contractors of Petroleos Mexicanos Fuel theft cost Pemex some $3 billion last year In recent weeks, the president has deployed about 10,000 troops and federal police to guard hundreds of miles of vulnerable fuel pipelines, many in remote areas. The government has periodically shut down much of the pipeline system as part of its anti-theft operation, leading to major shortages of gasoline at the pump. “I greatly lament the grave situation that Tlahuelilpan is suffering,” Lopez Obrador said Friday in a Twitter message. The president called the problem a “scourge” and vowed to eliminate it. Last year, Pemex detected more than 12,000 illegal perforations of pipelines, authorities said. The black-market tapping of fuel from pipelines provides a living for many rural communities, where residents have resisted enforcement efforts. Fuel thieves occasionally engage in shootouts with police and military units. Friday’s explosion is not the first such tragedy in Mexico. In 2010, 29 people in the state of Puebla were killed at an explosion at a pipeline that had also been illegally tapped. McDonnell is a Times staff writer and Sanchez a special correspondent in The Times’ Mexico City bureau. Special Correspondent Liliana Nieto del Rio in Mexico City also contributed. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world and 137 Deaths in MexicoA fatal fuel leak at a Pemex pipeline highlights the dangers of the illegal siphoning trade A team of firefighters work on a simulated fuel leak in Tlahuelilpan clouds gathered on the horizon above Tlahuelilpan As the rising sun flicked the mountains poking out of the flatlands on Jan locals who worked in the nearby fields or factories left home to earn their daily wage 25 soldiers on patrol spotted a horde of people jostling and yelling at Mile 140 of the Tuxpan-Tula pipeline They were engaged in another of the area’s major occupations: siphoning gasoline General view of the site where a massive blaze triggered by a leaky pipeline took place in Tlahuelilpan The death toll from a recent pipeline explosion in Mexico's central state of Hidalgo has risen to 91 Fayad also said that the 52 wounded people had been treated in a dozen hospitals in Hidalgo the governor said he would dedicate himself to saving lives and supporting the federal government's crackdown on fuel theft The explosion and an ensuing blaze occurred at a pipeline spot in the community of San Primitivo in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan at around 7pm local time (0100 GMT) on Friday between 600 and 800 people gathered at the site to collect leaked fuel with containers when the explosion took place Fayad said that all possible support has been offered to affected families and reiterated his request not to approach leaking pipelines The accident is one of the worst tragedies caused by pipeline explosions in Mexico in recent years 30 people were killed and 52 others injured in a series of explosions at two oil pipelines in the central state of Puebla 1.Comments will appear only after being approved by our team so it might be a while before your comment is posted 2.In accordance with the Regulations on Internet News and Information Services and other related laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China comments should not contain anything that is obscene Please [ Login ] to leave a comment A petroleum pipeline in Hidalgo exploded last night after it had been illegally tapped to steal fuel leaving 66 people dead and another 76 injured The explosion occurred just before 7:00pm in a field in Tlahuelilpan a municipality around 80 kilometers west of the state capital Video circulating on social media showed a huge fire spreading across the field after the explosion presumably following the route of the perforated pipeline People who had been filling containers with fuel can be heard screaming and shouting as large flames shoot into the air At a press conference this morning alongside President López Obrador Hidalgo Governor Omar Fayad Meneses said that authorities were first informed about the pipeline tap at 4:30pm and the army arrived at the site an hour later and directed people to leave “Authorities tried to persuade people who were looting the pipeline [to move away] but the majority didn’t listen Up to now there are 66 people who have been killed and 76 people are injured,” Fayad said the military and personnel from Pemex rushed to the scene of the explosion where they found dozens of burned bodies in the field who according to media reports included 73 men and three women were taken to several different hospitals in Hidalgo and Mexico City by ambulance and five helicopters that were provided by the Mexico City government A list of the deceased and hospitalized will be published on the Hidalgo government website Fayad said that investigations to determine the exact cause of the explosion are continuing The fire was controlled just before midnight The tragedy occurred as the federal government is cracking down on fuel theft by deploying the military and Federal Police to safeguard the nation’s petroleum pipelines The strategy has caused prolonged gasoline shortages in several states causing long lines at gas stations and leaving motorists and business owners angry and frustrated When news of the illegal tap in Hidalgo spread late yesterday afternoon hundreds of local residents rushed to the field in the community of San Primitivo where geysers of gasoline were shooting into the air Between 600 and 800 people arrived at the field according to National Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval where they tried to fill all manner of different containers with fuel “There were a lot of people who approached [the perforation] with containers teenagers,” a Hidalgo reporter who witnessed the explosion told the newspaper El Universal “People even approached ‘the fountain’ in pickup trucks to get the fuel to act the fool where the fuel was coming out They got wet and thought it was funny; a lot of people were getting wet with gasoline,” Joselyn Sánchez said She explained that the smell of gasoline in the air was so strong that many women were vomiting Sánchez said that after the explosion occurred she saw people running away from the pipeline with their bodies engulfed in flames López Obrador visited the site of the explosion last night where he lamented the tragedy but pledged to continue to fight against fuel theft “We will continue and strengthen the fight against the illegality and the oil theft,” he told reporters “We will carry on until we eradicate this practice.” There were 12,581 illegal taps detected on Mexico’s pipelines during the first 10 months of 2018 Fuel theft costs Mexico billions of pesos a year Yesterday’s pipeline explosion is the deadliest in recent history but blasts caused by illegal taps are relatively common and have caused deaths in several states including Veracruz and Querétaro last year an explosion of a pipeline in San Martín Texmelucan that blast was also caused by an illegal tap Source: Criterio Hidalgo (sp), Sin Embargo (sp), El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)  ADVERTISE WITH MND COMMUNITY GUIDELINES Subscription FAQ's Privacy Policy Mexico News Daily - Property of Tavana LLC Identifying the remains of people killed in the petroleum pipeline explosion in Hidalgo on Friday night could take months identification can be done [but] it won’t be in a moment or in a couple of hours There are cases that will take hours and cases that will take days and even months,” Omar Fayad said yesterday after a meeting with family members of the deceased The governor said that the remains of 68 people were found at the scene of the explosion – a field in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan – but only nine of those victims have been identified Family members of those believed to be among the deceased have provided 54 genetic samples to assist with the identification process Fayad said that “the most difficult cases” could be sent to laboratories in the United States or Innsbruck Researchers at the Innsbruck Medical University previously carried out DNA testing on bone fragments recovered from a river near the Cocula garbage dump in Guerrero where the bodies of 43 students are believed to have been burned in 2014 The death toll from Friday’s explosion has now risen to 89 Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer said this morning the victims were filling containers with fuel that was shooting into the air after the pipeline had been illegally tapped A large fire spread across the field in the community of San Primitivo remain in hospital including three people who were transferred to Texas for treatment National Defense Secretary Luis Cresencio Sandoval said 25 soldiers arrived at the field when only a small amount of fuel was coming out of the punctured pipeline and that they tried to stop people from approaching it the soldiers were “overwhelmed by the number of people” and “forced to retreat to one side to avoid a confrontation,” Cresencio said Asked yesterday whether the explosion may have been sabotage aimed at testing the government’s resolve with regard to its anti-fuel theft strategy then once and for all understand that we’re not going to give up I offer an apology to the people if this action causes sacrifices it’s not something that’s negotiable.” Source: Milenio (sp)  and 52 victims are being treated in hospital Mexico City – The death toll in a massive fire at an illegally tapped pipeline in Mexico rose to 89 Monday as more of the injured have died at hospitals Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer said 51 victims severely burned in the fire were still in hospitals The victims were gathering gasoline from an illegal pipeline tap in the central state of Hidalgo on Friday when the gas ignited littering an alfalfa field with charred bodies The government reported Monday that an astonishing total of 14,894 such illegal taps had been found in 2018 Hidalgo was the state with the highest number of such taps The fire occurred in the small farming town of Tlahuelilpan where 38 such taps were found in 2017 and 23 in 2018 The fire occurred on a 14-inch underground steel pipeline that had been drilled President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Mexico’s fuel ducts are antiquated and decaying “These pipelines haven’t been changed in more than 30 years patched-up pipelines without the capacity to carry fuel,” he said Monday “That is why it was decided to expand delivery with tanker trucks.” He said the government has signed contracts to buy 571 gas tanker trucks Lopez Obrador said he hopes to pay for some of the trucks by selling off the fleet of presidential and bodyguard vehicles which he has refused to use Lopez Obrador launched an offensive against illegal taps soon after taking office Dec deploying 3,200 marines to guard pipelines and refineries while shutting off pipelines where taps were detected The pipeline shutdowns have resulted in fuel shortages and long lines at gas stations something that might have swelled the number looking to gather illegal gas in the field where the fire broke out Tlahuelilpan resident Arely Calva Martinez said her brother had been in the field on Friday and still hasn’t been found About 57 of the charred bodies were so badly burned they couldn’t be recognized needed gas to drive 1 1/2 hours each day to his job as a teacher “They didn’t have gas because the gas stations weren’t selling any and he needed to get to work,” said Calva Martinez “I believe that if the gas stations had been selling gas a lot of those people wouldn’t have been there,” she said of the victims This article was published more than 6 years ago Soldiers guard the site where a gas pipeline exploded A blast at a gasoline pipeline in Mexico that killed 85 people has directed renewed scrutiny toward the new president’s ambitious strategy to stop fuel theft his first major offensive to stamp out corruption and organized crime Some relatives of the victims said fuel shortages stemming from President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s plan led people to fill plastic containers with gasoline on Friday at a leak in the Tula-Tuxpan pipeline Up to 800 people gathered to collect fuel from a 7-m (23-foot) gasoline geyser The government has not yet clarified details of the disaster and questions are arising about what caused the leak how long it took officials to respond and why authorities did not do more to clear local residents from the leaking pipe it has recently been disclosed that Mexico’s state oil firm did not close the valve at a leaking gasoline pipeline when first notified because it was not initially thought to be an “important” leak Half a dozen people told Reuters their relatives went to the leaking duct in Hidalgo state’s Tlahuelilpan district in central Mexico because they had been struggling to find fuel and were desperate to fill up cars to get to work or run their farms perhaps their car didn’t have enough gasoline for tomorrow and they said: ‘I’m just going to go for a few litres,’” said farmer Isidoro Velasco who believed his nephew Mario Hidalgo was likely killed Lopez Obrador said on Sunday that the disaster had not weakened his resolve to fight fuel theft “I won’t take a single step backward,” he told a news conference would mark a victory for the veteran leftist who won last year’s election on promises to root out endemic corruption strengthen ailing national oil company Pemex and ensure stable fuel prices would likely not only erode his popularity but pose risks for the economy An opinion poll last week showed the fuel strategy was a polarizing issue with about half the population supporting the measure despite long lines at gas stations and other difficulties Lopez Obrador said he hoped that supply would normalize soon as Mexico buys more tanker trucks for distribution by road has repeatedly been asked why soldiers deployed to guard the duct did not chase people away from the leak and how quickly the pipeline was shut down after Pemex detected the rupture Pemex initially took the pipeline out of service in late December as the government tried to protect it from gangs who had hit it 10 times in Tlahuelilpan Pemex Chief Executive Officer Octavio Romero told a news conference on Saturday After Pemex began attempting to restart operations on Wednesday Romero said Pemex closed a valve at the pipeline on Friday after noting a drop in pressure from the leak Fuel spurted from the pipeline for around two hours after Pemex alerted other authorities to the leak with no visible loss of pressure before the explosion Pemex had been in a rush to reopen the pipeline to avoid a new wave of gasoline shortages in Mexico City the head of Mexico-based energy consulting firm GMEC citing conversations with oil industry professionals The fissure occurred at a spot in the duct that Pemex had previously repaired but gave way under the pressure of a new surge of fuel Pemex officials decided to keep fuel running after the first signs of a leak Pemex did not respond to requests for comment Lopez Obrador said prosecutors would investigate the matter but that even if the valve were closed immediately there would have been 10,000 barrels of high-octane gasoline in the section of pipeline between the Tula refinery and the village The Defense Ministry and Lopez Obrador said the army which had just 25 soldiers present before the explosion Critics say authorities should have called for reinforcements and been firmer in sealing off the area Lopez Obrador said the soldiers told villagers not to get too close but were ignored Report an editorial error Report a technical issue Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following Welcome to The Globe and Mail’s comment community. 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For more information on our commenting policies and how our community-based moderation works, please read our Community Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions At least 73 dead and 76 injured in blast that occurred as people tried to fill containers with fuel The death toll from the explosion of a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves in central Mexico has risen to 73 the governor of the state of Hidalgo has said At a news conference with the Mexican president said 76 people had also been injured in Friday evening’s explosion which happened as people tried to fill containers with fuel Dozens of burned bodies lay in the charred field where the blast occurred in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan as forensic experts inspected and photographed the remains Soldiers and other military personnel surrounded the cordoned-off area López Obrador pledged to step up his government’s drive to stamp out fuel theft which has cost the country billions of dollars in the last few years Video footage showed people getting covered in petrol as they tried to fill their containers on Friday Screams could be heard later as a fireball shot into the sky “Hit the ground,” one person yelled at those fleeing The origins of the explosion remain uncertain but it brought home the horrors of stolen fuel often siphoned from pipes belonging to the state-run oil company "Mi garrafón, wey" circula en redes video de la fuga en #Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo antes de la explosión https://t.co/LoGFExj8cH pic.twitter.com/wCOP5XQv4a Fayad appealed to people via Twitter to avoid taking fuel saying they were putting their lives and those of their families at risk “What happened today in Tlahuelilpan should not be repeated,” he said which has mushroomed in recent years and spawned criminal gangs whose clashes over huachicol – originally slang for poor-quality alcohol – have sent the homicide rate soaring in several states who took office on an agenda of combating corruption and calming the country ordered the crackdown on fuel theft barely a month after taking office He closed fuel pipelines running from refineries and deployed tanker trucks to supply petrol stations arguing that fuel theft cost the country billions He also sent the army to guard key Pemex installations 0:45Aerial footage shows scale of Mexico fire after pipeline explosion - videoPemex pipes were tapped an average of 42 times a day in the first 10 months of 2018 On Saturday López Obrador said: “Far from stopping the fight … against fuel theft we’ll continue until we’ve eradicated these practices.” The crackdown inevitably caused shortages and long petrol lines in at least six states and the national capital – not unlike the US in the 1970s Opponents criticised the crackdown as improvised and ill-considered while business groups have warned of a possible economic slowdown and shortages of staples in some western states so they’re going to stop using the pipelines,” said George Baker a veteran observer of the Mexican oil industry Emergency personnel arrive in Tlahuelilpan Photograph: Social Media/ReutersBut the public is backing the president presided over a six-year term marred by accusations of graft and inaction on crimes like fuel theft A poll in the Reforma newspaper showed 73% of respondents saying they were willing to endure fuel shortages to combat huachicol a culture of stealing fuel has taken hold in some parts of the country – such as in the state of Puebla where residents of poor corn-farming villages have blocked major highways to protest against army actions against so-called huachicoleros “Huachicol happens in poor towns and everyone there benefits,” said Esteban Illades authorities blamed oil thieves for a pipeline explosion in a central Mexico near the capital that killed 28 people affecting 5,000 residents in an area six miles (10km) wide in San Martin Texmelucan This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media View the discussion thread. The number of people confirmed dead in a fuel pipeline explosion in central Mexico late last week has risen to 96 Hundreds of people were crowded in to collect gasoline gushing from a pipeline near the town of Tlahuelilpan in the state of Hidalgo It had been ruptured by suspected fuel thieves Central Mexico has been hard-hit by petrol shortages since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched a crackdown on fuel theft nearly a month ago ordering pipelines closed in an effort to stamp out criminal activity Hidalgo's government said in a statement 96 people had been confirmed dead from the explosion the worst to affect Mexico's troubled oil infrastructure in several years Another 48 people were receiving treatment for their injuries Mexican authorities now put the number killed in Friday night's fuel pipeline blast at 66 Fears death toll will rise once the fire near an oil refinery in central Mexico is extinguished World RSS Follow RNZ News your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt The death toll following a pipeline explosion in central Mexico on Friday evening has risen to 79 At least 74 people have been injured. They are being treated in several hospitals, Hidalgo State Governor Omar Fayad said on Twitter. a city in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo Images from the scene showed a massive blaze with flames leaping into the night sky State oil company Pemex said in a statement that the explosion was caused by illegal taps in the pipeline Many of the victims are thought to be people who were stealing some of the oil According to Public Security Minister Alfonso Durazo the blaze was contained shortly before midnight He warned that the death toll could rise as authorities began sweeping the area for bodies who flew over the area to assess the damage called on people "not to be complicit in fuel theft." it puts your life and those of your families in danger What happened today in Tlahuelilpan should not be repeated," he wrote on Twitter Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Twitter that he had been briefed on the incident "I'm very sorry for the serious situation in Tlahuelipan due to a pipeline explosion (...) I gave instructions to contain the fire and treat the victims," he wrote The government estimates that fuel theft cost the country more than $3 billion last year and has launched a major crackdown by temporarily closing several pipelines But it has led to severe shortages in some areas Pemex also announced on Friday that it was dealing with a separate incident in San Juan del Rio in the state of Queretaro also due to "illegal taps" but added that "there was no risk" to the local population Mexico: At least 71 people were killed after a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves exploded in central Mexico Forensic experts filled body bags with charred human remains in the field where the explosion occurred on Friday evening by the town of Tlahuelilpan in the state of Hidalgo in one of the deadliest incidents to hit Mexico’s troubled oil infrastructure in years One witness described how an almost festive atmosphere among hundreds of local residents filling containers with spilled fuel turned to horror as the blast scattered the crowd in all directions incinerating clothing and inflicting severe burns A number of people at the scene told Reuters that local shortages in gasoline supply since Lopez Obrador launched a drive to stamp out fuel theft had encouraged the rush to the gushing pipeline “Everyone came to see if they could get a bit of gasoline for their car there isn’t any in the gas stations,“ said farmer Isaias Garcia Garcia was at the site with two neighbours “Some people came out burning and screaming,“ he added where local media this week said more than half of the gas stations were at times shut Hidalgo State Governor Omar Fayad said 71 people were killed and 76 people injured in the explosion which happened as residents scrambled to get buckets and drums to a gush at the pipeline that authorities said rose up to 7m high The crackdown on fuel theft has become a litmus test of Lopez Obrador’s drive to tackle corruption in Mexico – and to stop illegal taps draining billions of dollars from the heavily-indebted state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) Video on social media showed people filling buckets from the pipeline during daylight hours in the presence of the armed forces before the blast defended the army in the face of questions about why soldiers failed to prevent the tragedy “We’re not going to fight fire with fire,“ the veteran leftist said Hundreds gathered at a local cultural centre on Saturday afternoon hoping to get information about loved ones who disappeared after the explosion Officials had posted information about DNA tests for identification and a list of people who had been taken to hospitals Lopez Obrador said the army had been right to avoid a confrontation due to the large number of people seeking to make off with a trove of free fuel – a few liters of which are worth more than the daily minimum wage in Mexico Blaming previous governments for neglecting the population He rejected suggestions the incident was linked to his policy and the ruptured pipeline was only a few miles away from a major oil refinery Pemex’s Chief Executive Octavio Romero told reporters that there had been 10 illegal fuel taps in the same municipality in the last three months alone Neither he nor the president said exactly when the valves to the pipeline were closed Relatives of victims stood huddled together Much of the rush to siphon off fuel and the chaos of the explosion was captured on mobile phones and began quickly circulating on social media Mexican media published graphic pictures of victims from the blast site covered in burns and shorn of their clothes arrived at the scene before the explosion where she said there were more than 300 people with containers to collect fuel for a moment you could even hear how happy people were.” Grief-stricken family members blocked access to the field for over half an hour saying they would not let funeral service vehicles pass until they were told where the dead were being taken Lopez Obrador has said his decision to close pipelines has greatly reduced fuel theft but the death toll has raised questions about potentially unintended consequences people one way or another wanted to be able to move around,“ said local farmer Ernesto Sierra “Some even came with their bean pots.” — Reuters Tel: +603-7784 6688      Fax: +603-7785 2625 MEXICO CITY (AP) — The death toll in a massive fire at an illegally tapped pipeline in Mexico rose to 89 Monday as more of the injured have died at hospitals President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Mexico’s fuel ducts are antiquated and decaying “These pipelines haven’t been changed in more than 30 years patched-up pipelines without the capacity to carry fuel,” he said Monday “That is why it was decided to expand delivery with tanker trucks.” had been in the field on Friday and still hasn’t been found About 57 of the charred bodies were so badly burned they couldn’t be recognized needed gas to drive 1 1/2 hours each day to his job as a teacher “They didn’t have gas because the gas stations weren’t selling any and he needed to get to work,” said Calva Martinez “I believe that if the gas stations had been selling gas a lot of those people wouldn’t have been there,” she said of the victims The federal council and the NDP caucus decided on the local MP The Surrey Police Service (SPS) is turning to the public for help Jendhel May Sico is described as a person who lived her life to the fullest she was celebrating the Lapu-Lapu Day festival with those she loved most -- her cousin Killed in a car-ramming attack on Saturday she was celebrating the Lapu-Lapu Day festival with those she loved most -- her cousin speaks to reporter Kier Junos about the day their lives changed forever Huge crowds lined the streets of Vancouver to cheer on 25,000 runners making their way around the city for the 53rd annual BMO Marathon on Sunday Andrew's Saturday in honour of the victims of the deadly Lapu-Lapu tragedy last week The accused person in the deadly car attack at the Lapu-Lapu Day block party in Vancouver on April 26th appeared at the provincial Court of British Columbia 30-year-old Kai Ji Adam Lo appeared via video in court Four people remain in critical condition in hospital and another two remain in serious condition five days after the deadly attack at the Lapu-Lapu Day festival in Vancouver on April 26 Jack Rabb has more on the efforts to support the victims Listen to NewsRadio Vancouver live anytime and get up-to-the-minute breaking-news alerts weather and video from CityNews Vancouver anywhere you are – across all Android and iOS devices Mexico (Reuters) – At least 73 people were killed after a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves exploded in central Mexico in one of the deadliest incidents to hit Mexico’s troubled oil infrastructure in years “Everyone came to see if they could get a bit of gasoline for their car there isn’t any in the gas stations,” said farmer Isaias Garcia “Some people came out burning and screaming,” he added Hidalgo Governor Omar Fayad said 73 people were killed and 74 people injured in the explosion which happened as residents scrambled to get buckets and drums to a gush at the pipeline that authorities said rose up to 23 feet (7 meters) high Fayad said the condition of many of the injured was deteriorating Hidalgo Attorney General Raul Arroyo said 54 bodies were so badly burned that they could take a long time to identify The crackdown on fuel theft has become a litmus test of Lopez Obrador’s drive to tackle corruption in Mexico – and to stop illegal taps draining billions of dollars from the heavily-indebted state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) “We’re not going to fight fire with fire,” the veteran leftist said and if we’ve reached these extremes … it’s because they were abandoned.” More than 100 people gathered at a local cultural center on Saturday afternoon Officials posted information about DNA tests for identification and a list of people taken to hospital Lopez Obrador said the army had been right to avoid a confrontation due to the large number of people seeking to make off with a trove of free fuel – a few liters of which are worth more than the daily minimum wage in Mexico Pemex’s Chief Executive Octavio Romero told reporters that there had been 10 illegal fuel taps in the same municipality in the last three months alone “It was like a party…for a moment you could even hear how happy people were.” “Some people’s skin came off…it was very ugly people screamed and cried,” she said “They shouted the names of their husbands people one way or another wanted to be able to move around,” said local farmer Ernesto Sierra “Some even came with their bean pots.” Powered by PageSuite MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The number of people who died in a gasoline pipeline explosion in central Mexico late last week has risen to 96 The explosion last Friday occurred after hundreds of people crowded in to collect gasoline gushing from a pipeline that had been ruptured by suspected fuel thieves near to the town of Tlahuelilpan in the state of Hidalgo Hidalgo’s government said in a statement that 96 people had been confirmed dead from the explosion the worst to affect Mexico’s troubled oil infrastructure in several years Central Mexico had been hard-hit by gasoline shortages since President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched a crackdown on fuel theft nearly a month ago 2019 - MEXICO-HIDALGO-PIPELINE-EXPLOSION Paramedics move an injured person onto a helicopter after a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan At least 20 people were killed and 54 others injured in a pipeline explosion in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo on Friday People watch at the site of a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan Rescuers work at the site of a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan A safety helmet is seen at the site of a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan Belongings of the victims are seen at the site of a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan A woman cries as she finds the body of her beloved at the site of a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan Relatives cry as they find bodies of their beloved at the site of a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan Relatives search for their missing beloved at the site of a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan At least 21 people were killed and 71 others injured in a pipeline explosion in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo on Friday (Xinhua/David de la Paz/IANS) )Members of the Mexican Army work at the site of a pipeline explosion in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan 2025INS Sharda Joins India-Maldives HADR Exercise 2025Delhi CM Rekha Gupta Leads Cleanliness Drive 2025Nirmala Sitharaman Interacts with Indian Diaspora in Milan 2025Nirmala Sitharaman Meets Bhutan Finance Minister 2025Training session ahead of the IPL match between MI 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