World
10:34, 19-Jan-2019
Death toll of Mexico pipeline blast rises to 66
Updated
22:30, 19-Jan-2019
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A massive fire broke out at the site of an illegal fuel tap in central Mexico on Friday, killing at least 66 people and injuring at least 71 others as rescuers struggled to contain the blaze.
Omar Fayad, governor of Hidalgo state, said the explosion happened around 7:00 p.m. local time (0100 GMT) in Tlahuelilpan, about 105 kilometers north of Mexico City, adding that locals at the site of a leak were scrambling to steal some of the leaking fuel.
"What we know is that it was an illegal fuel theft site, and that authorities were aware of it" when it burned, Fayed added.
Federal and state firefighters and ambulances were headed to the area to help burn victims, the governor added, as victims were ferried off to hospitals.
"I am deeply saddened by the grave situation suffered by Tlahuelilpan because of the explosion of a pipeline," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wrote on Twitter.
(With input from AFP)