Sunday, July 20, 2025

Pipeline explodes in México state, injures 7

Seven people have been reported injured after a state oil company pipeline exploded in México state on Wednesday afternoon.

The blast occurred at the presumed site of an illegal tap on a Pemex gas pipeline in Polotitlán, a municipality in northern México state that borders both Querétaro and Hidalgo.

Emergency personnel
Emergency response team at the site of the explosion. (Secretaría de Salud del Edo de México/Twitter)

Polotitlán Mayor Teresa Sánchez Bárcena said that three of the seven people injured are local Civil Protection personnel who responded to the explosion. The victims suffered burns and were taken to a local hospital, according to municipal authorities.

Video footage showed large flames and thick clouds of black smoke emanating from the pipeline.

Sánchez said in a video message that residents of the communities of El Tesoro, where the explosion occurred, and Celayita had evacuated. Shelters were set up to accommodate those with nowhere to go.

Sánchez said that authorities of all three levels of government responded to the explosion and that the situation was being brought under control.

Explosions along Pemex pipelines due to leaks are fairly common as crime gangs perforate the lines to steal petroleum and gas.

The deadliest incident in recent years was an explosion in January 2019 at a gasoline pipeline in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo, that claimed 137 lives.

With reports from El Universal, Milenio and Aristegui Noticias

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