MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – A powerful explosion rocked the Mexico City headquarters of state-owned oil giant Pemex yesterday, killing at least 14 people, injuring 100 and trapping others inside.
The blast battered the lower floors of the downtown tower, throwing debris into the streets and sending frightened workers running outside.
It was not yet clear what caused the explosion, the latest in a series of safety problems to hit Mexico’s national oil monopoly. Media reports said the incident occurred when machinery apparently exploded. An ambulance service official at the scene, who asked not to be named, said it was caused by a gas leak.
Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said the blast killed at least 14 people and injured 100. As evening fell, dozens of employees were believed to be still trapped inside, and rescue workers at the scene said the death toll at the Pemex skyscraper could keep rising.
Mauricio Parra, a paramedic at the scene, said he believed at least 20 had died and that 100 could be trapped inside.
Police quickly cordoned off the building, and television images showed the explosion caused serious damage to the ground floor and blew out windows on the lower floors of the tower.
“The place shook, we lost power and suddenly there was debris everywhere. Colleagues were helping us out of the building,” witness Cristian Obele told Mexican television.
