20 Dead, 60 Burned in Fire at Tap on Mexico Fuel Pipeline

A huge fire exploded at a pipeline leaking fuel in central Mexico on Friday, killing at least 20 people and badly burning 60 others as locals collected the spilling gasoline in buckets, officials said. The leak was caused by fuel thieves illegally tapping the pipeline in a small town in the state of Hidalgo,
about 100 km north of Mexico City, according to state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has declared an offensive against fuel theft, and on Friday he called on all branches of government to assist the victims. “There was a report that residents were on the scene trying to obtain fuel,” according to a police report. Two hours later, the pipeline burst into flames. It is not the first time such an accident has occurred.