Mexico – 5 Killed In Pemex Pipeline Fire

At least five people were killed in a fire at a pipeline operated by Mexican state-owned oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos in the northern municipality of Garcia, Nuevo Leon state, the company said.

Pemex said on Twitter that the blaze, which erupted Tuesday, had been brought under control but will “continue while the remaining gas in that section of the pipeline is consumed.”

Although the local media reported that the fire may have been caused by the theft of fuel via illegal taps, an activity known in Mexico as “milking,” Pemex confirmed machinery owned by a contracting company punctured the pipeline and caused the blaze.

All five killed in Tuesday’s accident were workers at the contracting company, Pemex said, without identifying that firm.
Pemex said it cut the flow of gas in the pipeline as soon as the fire began.