Death Toll Rises in Fire at Mexico's Pemex Gas Facility Associated Press
go to original September 18, 2012

UPDATE: The death toll from a gas plant fire in northern Mexico has risen to 26, the state-run energy giant Pemex says. Four of the dead were Pemex workers while the 22 others were contractors at the plant in Tamaulipas, the company said on Twitter.

MEXICO CITY — Ten people were killed Tuesday in a fire at a gas pipeline distribution center near Mexico’s border with the United States.

Mexico’s state-owned oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos, also known as Pemex, said the fire broke out Tuesday morning at a facility near the city of Reynosa, across from McAllen, Texas.

The company said in a statement that the fire had been extinguished and the pipeline had been shut off. The pipeline serves wells in the Burgos basin that produce natural gas.

The company said Tuesday that Pemex employees staff the center, but said it was not immediately clear whether those killed were Pemex employees. Nor did the company immediately offer the possible cause of the fire.

Pipelines carrying gasoline and diesel in Mexico are frequently tapped by thieves looking to steal oil products.

Several oil spills and explosions have been blamed on illegal taps. But thieves seldom target gas pipelines.

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