Thieves ruptured a pipeline that crosses the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, spilling at least 79,000 gallons of diesel fuel and forcing the evacuation of 350 people on Thursday.
State-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, issued a statement that 1,500 people had been evacuated for their safety.
At one point diesel fuel shot 25 feet into the air from the 24-inch pipeline, according to residents of the area, who told city officials that individuals who were clearly not workers for Pemex had been illegally extracting the fuel since Wednesday morning, Marquez said.
Mexican authorities are struggling to stop the theft of fuel from Pemex. A smuggling network in Veracruz supplies an extensive black market for fuel.
source: iht.com
Monday, January 21, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment