Mexican pipeline explosion kills at least 21

International Desk: At least 21 people were killed and 54 were injured on Friday when a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves exploded in central Mexico as people were trying to fill up containers, the government of Hidalgo state said.

Mexican television footage showed flames leaping into the night sky in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan to the north of Mexico City as people shouted and cried for help.

“The preliminary report I've been passed is very serious, they're telling me 21 people have died, charred,” Hidalgo state Governor Omar Fayad told Mexican television.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has launched a major crackdown on rampant fuel theft, which the government said cost the country more than $3 billion last year.

Governor Fayad said on Twitter there were more than 60 people injured in the blast, 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.

Agencies


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