Two people died, five were injured and 10 reported missing in Veracruz when an illegal pipeline tap caused a fuel spill that caught fire.

The incident occurred at El Once in the town of El Otate, Amatlán, where huachicoleros, or fuel thieves, tapped a Pemex pipeline that runs between Minatitlán, Veracruz, and Mexico City, near the highway between Córdoba and Cuichapa.

But fuel began to spill, attracting about 20 residents with buckets and other containers who arrived to help themselves to free fuel.

That was when a fire started, causing a minor explosion.

Among the victims was a 10-year-old boy who suffered second and third-degree burns to 70% of his body.

The spill reached a nearby creek, leaving a fuel stain about 1.5 kilometers long.

Source: Diario de Xalapa (sp)