1 dead, 7 injured in Mexico fuel fire

  • 24/12/2015
(iStock)
(iStock)

One person has died and seven others are critically injured after a fire broke out near an oil pipeline in southern Mexico.

The blaze ignited a pool of fuel left by thieves after they drilled a tap into an oil pipeline, AP reports.

State-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos said they had sealed the tap, but some fuel had collected near the end of the 150m hose used by the thieves.

It is understood some locals were trying to collect the fuel when the fire ignited late Tuesday (local time).

Initially the civil defence office in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco reported seven injuries but that was revised when searchers discovered a burnt body later in the day, a spokesman said.

The seven injured are all in a critical condition.

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