Death toll reaches 30 in Mexico gas facility plant explosion

USPA News - The death toll reached 30 after Tuesday`s gas facility explosion in northern Mexico, local authorities said Friday. Initial reports indicated that at least 26 people had been killed and seven others missing.

However, after confirming an increased death toll of at least 30 people, including five Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) workers, the company said there were no workers missing. The incident began at around 10:45 a.m. local time on Tuesday when an explosion occurred at a gas plant operated by Pemex at the kilometer 19 mark on the Reynosa-Monterrey highway in the state of Tamaulipas. The plant receives gas from the Burgos region in Mexico and distributes the product to the company`s gas and petrochemicals unit. Pemex said the explosion appeared to have been caused by an accidental leak and officials denied rumors that it was the result of sabotage. About 700 people were working at the plant at the time of the blast and a number of people living within a 5 kilometer (3.1 mile) radius were briefly evacuated as a precaution.