The death toll from a thunderous blast at a petrochemical plant in Mexico has risen to at least 13, an official said Thursday, in the latest accident plaguing the state-run oil giant Pemex.
The toll could rise further as another 136 people were injured, 13 of them critically, in Wednesday's explosion, which sent up huge plumes of black, toxic smoke and triggered panic among locals fearing a repeat of a 1991 blast at the same plant that caused a deadly gas leak.
The new blast at the petrochemical plant in the city of Coatzacoalcos in eastern Veracruz state was so powerful it was felt 10 kilometers (six miles) away. It shattered windows and forced the evacuation of schools and businesses.
Crews kept working Thursday to cool off one particularly hard hit area of the plant, hosing it down with water.
Investigators have yet to enter this area because of fears that structures might collapse, Luis Felipe Puente, a senior civil protection official within the state interior ministry, told Milenio television.
"We have searched the affected area within the complex, and sadly so far located 13 victims," Puente wrote earlier on Twitter.
The blast at the Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo (PMV) plant was caused by some kind of leak, said Jose Antonio Gonzalez, chief executive of Pemex.
The plant "uses flammable materials like chlorine and ethanol but we do not know the cause of the leak," told Televisa television.
Pemex co-owns the plant with a private company, Mexichem, which operates the facility.
A cloud of toxic chemicals spewed from the plant following the explosion, with footage from the scene showing thick, black smoke billowing into the sky.
Some 100 plant workers and about 2,000 residents had to be evacuated, according to Veracruz governor Javier Duarte.
Duarte rushed to the scene of what he said was "a very strong explosion," where fire crews had the blaze under control.
As the situation unfolded, he urged people living in the vicinity to remain indoors as the "cloud of chemicals" dissipated.
School classes in Coatzacoalcos, a port city, and nearby communities were suspended.
Pemex said in the late afternoon of Wednesday that the situation was "completely under control."
- Windows shattered -
Stores and homes in Coatzacoalcos had their windows blown out by the force of the blast.
As night fell, residents struggled to get over the initial shock.
"I left my house running. I thought the whole city was going to catch fire," said Marcela Andrade Moreno, a resident whose windows were shattered by the blast.
Other terrified residents also rushed out of their homes, fearing a repeat of the 1991 explosion at the same facility. The death toll from that incident officially stands at six, although local media insist the number is much higher.
"We live in a time bomb," said Abelardo Garduza, a merchant from the village of Allende located a few of kilometers from the plant.
Pemex has had to deal with several deadly accidents at its land-based and offshore facilities in recent years.
A natural gas plant explosion killed 30 people in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas in 2012. Even its headquarters –- a skyscraper in the heart of Mexico City –- was hit in January 2013 by a blast caused by a gas buildup that left 37 dead.
Accidents have taken place at several oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, while fires have erupted in pipelines after fuel thieves punctured them to steal the product.
The government has implemented a sweeping reform of the energy sector, which opens it to foreign investors for the first time in decades and partly aims to help modernize the country's aging infrastructure.
In February, two people were killed and at least seven injured in a blaze at a Pemex oil platform off the coast of Campeche, also in the southeast.
In August 2015, a gas pipeline belonging to Pemex exploded in the city of Monterrey killing five people.
Pemex provides one-fifth of the Mexican government's revenue but has posted huge losses amid crumbling production and oil prices.
The death toll from a thunderous blast at a petrochemical plant in Mexico has risen to at least 13, an official said Thursday, in the latest accident plaguing the state-run oil giant Pemex.
The toll could rise further as another 136 people were injured, 13 of them critically, in Wednesday’s explosion, which sent up huge plumes of black, toxic smoke and triggered panic among locals fearing a repeat of a 1991 blast at the same plant that caused a deadly gas leak.
The new blast at the petrochemical plant in the city of Coatzacoalcos in eastern Veracruz state was so powerful it was felt 10 kilometers (six miles) away. It shattered windows and forced the evacuation of schools and businesses.
Crews kept working Thursday to cool off one particularly hard hit area of the plant, hosing it down with water.
Investigators have yet to enter this area because of fears that structures might collapse, Luis Felipe Puente, a senior civil protection official within the state interior ministry, told Milenio television.
“We have searched the affected area within the complex, and sadly so far located 13 victims,” Puente wrote earlier on Twitter.
The blast at the Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo (PMV) plant was caused by some kind of leak, said Jose Antonio Gonzalez, chief executive of Pemex.
The plant “uses flammable materials like chlorine and ethanol but we do not know the cause of the leak,” told Televisa television.
Pemex co-owns the plant with a private company, Mexichem, which operates the facility.
A cloud of toxic chemicals spewed from the plant following the explosion, with footage from the scene showing thick, black smoke billowing into the sky.
Some 100 plant workers and about 2,000 residents had to be evacuated, according to Veracruz governor Javier Duarte.
Duarte rushed to the scene of what he said was “a very strong explosion,” where fire crews had the blaze under control.
As the situation unfolded, he urged people living in the vicinity to remain indoors as the “cloud of chemicals” dissipated.
School classes in Coatzacoalcos, a port city, and nearby communities were suspended.
Pemex said in the late afternoon of Wednesday that the situation was “completely under control.”
– Windows shattered –
Stores and homes in Coatzacoalcos had their windows blown out by the force of the blast.
As night fell, residents struggled to get over the initial shock.
“I left my house running. I thought the whole city was going to catch fire,” said Marcela Andrade Moreno, a resident whose windows were shattered by the blast.
Other terrified residents also rushed out of their homes, fearing a repeat of the 1991 explosion at the same facility. The death toll from that incident officially stands at six, although local media insist the number is much higher.
“We live in a time bomb,” said Abelardo Garduza, a merchant from the village of Allende located a few of kilometers from the plant.
Pemex has had to deal with several deadly accidents at its land-based and offshore facilities in recent years.
A natural gas plant explosion killed 30 people in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas in 2012. Even its headquarters –- a skyscraper in the heart of Mexico City –- was hit in January 2013 by a blast caused by a gas buildup that left 37 dead.
Accidents have taken place at several oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, while fires have erupted in pipelines after fuel thieves punctured them to steal the product.
The government has implemented a sweeping reform of the energy sector, which opens it to foreign investors for the first time in decades and partly aims to help modernize the country’s aging infrastructure.
In February, two people were killed and at least seven injured in a blaze at a Pemex oil platform off the coast of Campeche, also in the southeast.
In August 2015, a gas pipeline belonging to Pemex exploded in the city of Monterrey killing five people.
Pemex provides one-fifth of the Mexican government’s revenue but has posted huge losses amid crumbling production and oil prices.
