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Pipeline Explosion Kills at Least 66 in Mexico

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posted on Jan, 19 2019 @ 04:29 PM
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This was a horrible incident. OK, so the people involved were stealing, but it still doesn't make this any less awful in terms of their suffering from burns and other injuries, that is, if they survived the blast. I'm going to embed the video at the end of this post, please do not watch it if you are easily disturbed by graphic images of people on fire.

WARNING THE VIDEO AT THE END OF THIS POST IS VERY GRAPHIC

SLATE SOURCE

A huge blast at a gasoline pipeline on Friday evening killed at least 66 people in Central Mexico and injured at least 76 others. The death toll could rise considering “many of the gravely wounded are battling between life and death,” the governor of Hidalgo state, Omar Fayad, said. The explosion in Tlahuelilpan, a small town around 60 miles north of Mexico City, was caused by an illegal tap in the pipeline, according to state oil company Pemex. Dispatches from Tlahuellipan describe a gruesome scene of bodies piled on top of each other. Although officials said they are launching an investigation into the cause of the blast, Alejandro Gertz, Mexico’s attorney general, said “there was no doubt” it was the result of an illegal tap to steal fuel. Gertz also said that the investigation won’t be easy considering all of those who were closest to the site of the blast appear to have died. Video posted online showed how moments before the blast, dozens of people had gathered at the illegal tap to fill buckets and other containers with fuel. Although there was military personnel on hand, video shows they stayed on the sidelines with officials explaining that the number of troops were not enough to stop all the people who had gathered at the site of the illegal tap.


The explosion came less than a month after Mexico’s new president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, launched a crackdown on the rampant problem of fuel theft through illegal taps that cost the government billions of dollars a year. Pemex says its pipes were tapped an average of 41 times a day in the first 10 months of last year, which marked a 45 percent increase from the previous year. “Although it hurts a lot, we have to continue with the plan to end fuel theft,” the president said at a news conference. “We will not stop. We will eradicate this.” He also defended the army from claims that soldiers should have done more to prevent the tragedy in the first place.

edit on 1192019 by seattlerat because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 19 2019 @ 04:41 PM
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Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Idiocy and stupidity have consequences.

Non-story.



posted on Jan, 19 2019 @ 04:47 PM
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a reply to: seattlerat

The media is reporting this as if they were some kind of gang of organized fuel thieves, when in reality it was just poor people from the local town trying to fill buckets with the fuel which was spilling out near their homes.

Is it a coincidence that the fire started after the military and police failed to disperse the crowds? Well, the real question is, why would I be discussing this on a conspiracy website if I didn't have some suspicions?



posted on Jan, 19 2019 @ 05:09 PM
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a reply to: fedeykin

I was think the same thing about the military standing by. The article states that the govt. is losing BILLIONS of dollars due to these "thefts", would any conspiracy minded person put it past them to rig a remote detonator near the tap to teach the "thieves" a lesson and send a message to others who might seek to grab free fuel?



posted on Jan, 19 2019 @ 07:47 PM
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I have never had a good experience in Mexico. that is all.....


I feel sorry for those on fire. The video could of been left out of the op.
edit on 19-1-2019 by Plotus because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 19 2019 @ 07:56 PM
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originally posted by: fedeykin
a reply to: seattlerat

The media is reporting this as if they were some kind of gang of organized fuel thieves, when in reality it was just poor people from the local town trying to fill buckets with the fuel which was spilling out near their homes.

Is it a coincidence that the fire started after the military and police failed to disperse the crowds? Well, the real question is, why would I be discussing this on a conspiracy website if I didn't have some suspicions?


Did they pay for the gas, if not they were still stealing.
Being poor doesn't make it any less of a crime.

Sure its possible the Govt rigged something but Occam says it's much more likely that leaking gas + people acting stupid = dumb result incoming.



posted on Jan, 20 2019 @ 07:20 AM
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a reply to: Plotus

The video illustrates the scale of this tragedy. It is like the Hindenburg disaster. It might be argued they should not have shown that film but it reflects the impact of the event. You can instantly understand why not too many airships of that type were made after that.

Likewise, this film cries out for action to prevent a recurrence.



posted on Jan, 20 2019 @ 10:25 AM
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Hidalgo state police said the leak was first reported at about 5:00 p.m. local time.

“There was a report that residents were on the scene trying to obtain fuel,” according to a police report. Two hours later, the pipeline burst into flames. It is not the first time such an accident has occurred. In December 2010, authorities blamed oil thieves for a pipeline explosion in a central Mexico near the capital that killed 28 people, including 13 children. That blast burned people and scorched homes, affecting 5,000 residents in an area six miles (10 kilometers) wide in San Martin Texmelucan.

Lopez Obrador launched an offensive against the $3 billion per-year fuel theft industry after taking office December 1. Thieves drilled about 12,581 illegal taps in the first 10 months of 2018 and the country has deployed 3,200 marines to guard pipelines and refineries.

www.timesofisrael.com...


Hmm, maybe they should build some fencing or walls around the more vulnerable areas to inhibit this mass illegal activity and save their citizens lives and save their tax payors some money as well. Now they have the cost to rebuild the destructed area and pay for the overall damages caused from the illegal activities.....again.
edit on 20-1-2019 by StoutBroux because: (no reason given)



posted on Jan, 20 2019 @ 10:38 AM
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I viewed some images of the town of Tlahuelilpan where this occurred, and it appears to be a rural farming community. Many of the houses and buildings are crumbling, decrepit, moribund, or obviously need repair indicating that these are very poor families living here. Despite the apparent poverty, the streets are clean, a few of the tiny houses are brightly painted and attractive, and I didn't see graffiti, panhandlers, piles of garbage, or other sights typical in my neighborhood.

I suspect that some, if not most, of the people living here are struggling to survive, perhaps have children or elderly relatives to support. If this is in fact their plight, I have sympathy for their situation and can understand why they might "steal". There's also a chance that some of them didn't completely understand the risk they were taking, or were innocent bystanders.

It's not as if the victims were meth-addicts electrocuted while stealing copper wire. What would you do if you needed something for your family but could not afford to pay for it? What if your government wasn't providing the assistance you needed to keep your family warm and fed? Unless we were in the same situation as the victims, I think it is unfair to pass judgement on them and say that they deserved to be burned alive for stealing.

GOOGLE STREET VIEW OF TLAHUELILPAN

CRAZY WOODY WOODPECKER AND MIGHTY MOUSE CARNIVAL RIDE



posted on Jan, 20 2019 @ 10:45 AM
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a reply to: seattlerat

Remember: Drop and roll. "Stupid is what stupid does". - Forrest Gump



posted on Jan, 20 2019 @ 11:46 AM
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a reply to: opethPA

Two questions for you:

How is it a simpler explanation that an accident happened rather than it being a purposeful act of violence? I would see it the other way around, since I would reasonably expect people to know how flammable gasoline is and take at least some precautions.

While it is a crime, do you honestly believe the effect to be "just" punishment? 66 dead for stealing a few buckets of fuel? Thats some harsh punishment.




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