MEXICO: The morning after a powerful explosion at the Mexico City headquarters of state oil company Pemex kills 32, rescue workers continue to search for survivors

Record ID: 305970

  • Title: MEXICO: The morning after a powerful explosion at the Mexico City headquarters of state oil company Pemex kills 32, rescue workers continue to search for survivors
  • Date: 1st February 2013
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (FEBRUARY 1, 2013) (REUTERS) PEMEX BUILDING HELICOPTER FLYING OVERHEAD VARIOUS OF PEMEX WORKERS CLEARING DEBRIS FOLLOWING BLAST SHATTERED WINDOWS SEEN IN PEMEX BUILDING SOLDIER STANDING GUARD AMBULANCE AND DEBRIS CORDONED OFF AREA PEMEX'S CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, EMILIO LOZOYA AT NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanis
  • Embargoed: 16th February 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Mexico
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Accidents
  • Reuters ID: LVA74ZDFW02GCP96UJ3T6FI4CEIH
  • Story Text: Police helicopters circle overhead and rescue workers shift through the rubble hoping to find survivors after an explosion at the Mexico City headquarters of Mexican state oil company Pemex killed 32 while the cause of the incident is still unclear, the company said on Friday (February 1).
    Scenes of confusion and chaos after the explosion at the downtown tower, which also injured more than 100, dealt another blow to Pemex's image as Mexico's new president courts outside investment for the 75-year-old monopoly.
    Pemex's chief executive officer, Emilio Lozoya, said the number of dead from the explosion now stood at 32, up from 25 overnight.

    "Until now, we have confirmed 32 deaths, 12 men and 20 women, of which 20 have been identified, we have attended 121 people at hospital and 52 are still in hospital," he said.
    He said it was still too early to say what had caused the blast but would communicate results as they occurred, Lozoya told a news conference.

    "The President has instructed we should make the victims and their relatives the priority and we will work tirelessly on efforts to ensure there are no more trapped victims under the debris. As the Interior Minister mentioned, we will use every resource in our reach in order to find the root of the disaster. The investigations into the blast will continue and we expect to communicate the conclusions as they occur," Lozoya said.
    Pemex workers on Friday lowered the Mexican flag at half mast to honour the victims of the tragedy.
    Pemex, a symbol of Mexican self-sufficiency as well as a byword in Mexico for security glitches, oil theft and frequent accidents, has been hamstrung by inefficiency, union corruption and a series of safety failures costing hundreds of lives.
    Search and rescue workers picked through debris, and investigators sifted through shattered glass and concrete at the base of the building to try to find what caused the blast. It was not clear how many might still be trapped inside.
    A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a preliminary line of inquiry suggested a gas boiler had blown up in a Pemex building just to the side of the main tower. However, he stressed nothing had been determined for sure.
    Lozoya said the four floors worst affected by the explosion normally had about 200 to 250 people working on them. That compared with about 10,000 staff in the entire complex.
    The blast at the more than 50-storey skyscraper that houses administrative offices followed a September fire at a Pemex gas facility near the northern city of Reynosa which killed 30 people. More than 300 were killed when a Pemex natural gas plant on the outskirts of Mexico City blew up in 1984.
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