Firefighters belonging to the Tacubaya sector and workers dig for survivors after an explosion at an adjacent building to the executive tower of Mexico’s state-owned oil company PEMEX, in Mexico City, Thursday Jan. 31, 2013.
As many as 14 people have been killed after a powerful explosion at the headquarters of Mexico’s state-run oil company Pemex in Mexico City.
“We have 13 dead at the scene and one more at the hospital. There are more than 80 wounded and we continue to look for survivors in the debris,” AFP quoted Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong as saying on Thursday.
The blast, which was reportedly caused by “an accumulation of gas” in a power supply room, inflicted heavy damage on three floors of the 52-story building of Petroleos Mexicanos.
“It was an explosion, a shock, the lights went out and suddenly there was a lot of debris,” employee Cristian Obele was quoted as saying.
Another worker said the “strong explosion” shattered windows, leaving a large number of people in shock.
President Enrique Pena Nieto and Mexico City’s Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera rushed to the scene.
KA/HN
