The number of people who died from a gasoline pipeline explosion in central Mexico has risen to 85, Mexico's health minister said on Sunday.
An additional 58 people were hospitalized, Health Minister Jorge Alcocer told a news conference, Reuters reported.
The massive explosion and ensuing blaze broke out at a pipeline spot in the community of San Primitivo of the municipality of Tlahuelilpan at around 7:00 p.m. local time (0100 GMT), when roughly 700 people gathered around to collect the leaking fuel, according to authorities in the area.
Fire rages behind the bodies of burned victims at the scene of a massive blaze triggered by a leaky pipeline in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo state, January 18, 2019. /VCG Photo
Forensic experts filled body bags with charred human remains in the field where the explosion, in one of the deadliest incidents to hit Mexico's troubled oil infrastructure in years, occurred.
“Everyone came to see if they could get a bit of gasoline for their cars; there isn't any in the gas stations,” farmer Isaias Garcia, 50, told Reuters. He was at the site with two neighbors, but waited in the car some distance away.
Following the accident, Mexican President Lopez Obrador said he was dismayed by the tragedy and offered his deepest sympathy to the families of the victims.
Emergency personnel arrive at the scene where a ruptured fuel pipeline exploded in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, near the Tula refinery of state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), January 18, 2019. /Reuters Photo
"The most important thing" now was attending to the injured in order to save people's lives, he said.
Since taking office, Lopez Obrador has launched a major crackdown on fuel theft, which cost the country some three billion U.S. dollars last year.
The crackdown has become a litmus test of his drive to tackle corruption and to stop illegal taps draining billions of U.S. dollars from the heavily-indebted state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex).
Videos on social media showed people filling buckets from the pipeline during daylight hours in the presence of the armed forces before the blast.
Soldiers guard the site where a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves exploded, in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan, state of Hidalgo, January 19, 2019./ Reuters Photo
Lopez Obrador, who vowed to continue the crackdown, defended the army in the face of questions about why soldiers failed to prevent the tragedy.
"We're not going to fight fire with fire," the president said. "We think that people are good, honest, and if we've reached these extremes ... it's because they were abandoned."
Blaming previous governments for neglecting the population, he said the priority was to eradicate the social problems and lack of opportunities that had made people risk their lives. He rejected suggestions the incident was linked to his policy.
Still, Lopez Obrador had vowed to tighten security in sensitive sections of the oil infrastructure, and the ruptured pipeline was only a few miles away from a major oil refinery.
Residents check the list of people injured during the explosion of a fuel pipeline ruptured by suspected oil thieves, in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan, state of Hidalgo, January 19, 2019. / Reuters Photo
In the aftermath, soldiers and other military personnel guarded the cordoned-off area that was littered with half-burned shoes, clothes and containers.
More than 100 people gathered at a local cultural center on Saturday afternoon, hoping to get information about loved ones who disappeared. Officials posted information about DNA tests for identification and a list of people taken to the hospital.
Lopez Obrador has said his decision to close pipelines has greatly reduced fuel theft, but the death toll has raised questions about potential unintended consequences.
"There was a gasoline shortage, people one way or another wanted to be able to move around," said local farmer Ernesto Sierra, 44. "Some even came with their bean pots."