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Subscribe to RSSThe death toll has risen to 32 in Mexico City after an explosion blasted the lower floors of a skyscraper housing the headquarters of state oil monopoly Pemex. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
The death toll from a powerful explosion in the Mexico City skyscraper complex housing the offices of state oil monopoly Pemex rose to at least 33, company and government officials said Friday.
Twenty men and 12 women were killed, the company said — while 121 were injured, 52 of whom remain in hospital.
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto arrived at the Pemex administration complex by helicopter Thursday night to supervise rescue operations, Pemex and the news agency La Prensa reported. Hundreds of Mexican military forces were sent to the complex to "preserve security," officials told newspaper El Universal.
Rescue crews had searched most of the area damaged by the blast by Friday afternoon, said Attorney General Jesus Murillo said. But he added that survivors or more victims could still be found in the most unstable parts, which had not yet been fully checked.
Emilio Lozoya Austin, director general of Pemex, which is short for Petrõleos Mexicanos, told Reuters Friday the the company was "working with the best teams in Mexico and from overseas" to find the cause of the explosion.
He was flying home from a business trip to Asia when the blast occured. He said he extended his condolences "to all the families of Pemex workers who have lost their loved ones."
The explosion took place in the basement garage of the auxiliary building, next to the company's 52-floor tower in a busy commercial and residential area, said Eduardo Sánchez, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.
Stringer/Mexico/Reuters
An injured woman is transferred to a stretcher outside the headquarters of state oil giant Pemex in Mexico City on Thursday.
"They're conducting a tour of the building and the area adjacent to the blast site to verify if there are any still trapped so they can be rescued immediately," Sanchez said Thursday.
A government official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said preliminary findings suggested the blast was caused by aged boiler exploding in a building next to the tower, Reuters reported.
The plaster ceiling of the basement collapsed, a spokesman for the local emergency agency said. He described conditions in the tower as "delicate."
The main floor and the mezzanine of the auxiliary building were heavily damaged, along with windows as far as three floors up.
A man who was on the ground floor when the explosion occurred told Forum TV that the first casualties were taken to a clinic in the adjacent office tower, where several thousand people work.
"It shook the building, and then we were evacuated," he said.
Company touted safety record
News of the blast came toward the end of the business day — just a few hours after the company had sent two messages on Twitter celebrating how much it had "reduced our accident rate in recent years," announcing that its "safety indicators" exceeded international standards:
Twitter.com
Twitter.com
"An explosion took place in the B2 building of the administrative center," Pemex tweeted just after 4 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET). "There are injuries and damage on the ground floor and mezzanine," it said, promising further information as it became available.
Pemex initially said the building had been evacuated because of a problem with its electricity supply. It then said there had been an explosion, but it didn't give the cause.
Milenio TV via NBC News
The scene at Pemex headquarters in Mexico City on Thursday after an explosion. There was no official explanation for the blast.
Television images showed people being evacuated — some on office chairs and gurneys. Emergency crews loaded people on stretchers into helicopters and airlifted them out of the area.
"The place shook, we lost power and suddenly there was debris everywhere," Cristian Obele told Milenio news network. "Colleagues were helping us out of the building."
Jose Cuellar, a mechanic who works near the complex, said he was repairing a car when an explosion rocked his entire workshop.
"We went to see and saw people coming out injured," Cuella, 45, told El Universal. "Other people were carrying them."
Edgar Zuniga Jr. and M. Alex Johnson of NBC News, Telemundo and Reuters contributed to this report.
Leave a Comment:
Ban skyscrapers. The only answer.
Pemex! Hello! Does this name ring any bells?
It's Primary Ownership through many distractions & covers is...
> The ELITE!
These are purposely being done in the name of Humanity!
People have had enough of the Elite! More is coming too! This is just the beginning!
Where were you today? Maybe we should add you to the list of suspects! Big Al might be off the hook.
See? I told you OWS hadn't gone away. They've just been resting up in theri basements.
Time to ban skyscrapers folks. This will save lives.
Yo oro para todos ustedes en Mexico que son afectados por este desastre.
* Some of you people are so cold hearted and insensitive. People are DEAD. Others are trapped beneath rubble, hoping to be found (even if not all in one piece) before the air runs out and all some of you can talk about is pissy comma placement and petty punctuation?! These are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles and so on. Those who love them are waiting for them to come home. Some of them will never make it. If any grading is going on, it should be on the content of the message; not grammar as we (the USA) have experienced our share of devastation too (Katrina, Sandy, 911, Newtown). Generally, people who nitpick are nitwits. To nitpick about grammatical errors signifies an inability to contribute anything meaningful to the conversation and so it is best to simply not post anything at all. Again, my prayers are with all those in Mexico who have been affected by this disaster.
The US should annex Mexico and make it part of us. Imagration fiasco over.
Your not alone on that one. I'd start with Baja Ca.
You must be running for political office Royalstar05. You would have won the last presidential election with that pitch.
Fiasco..hell we want the Mexicans in this coutry.Just look at the FBI's 10 most wanted,we want a bunch ofem!
Better ban explosions. Yes, that's the answer.....
Im guessing a ransom demand was refused. This was the retaliation. Hopefully they know who is behind it, and can hunt them down.
This is awful - any idea of when we'll know what happened?
No official cause yet. Thanks for asking. We will continue to follow the tragedy.
Perhaps the article was updated to mention the potential of a boiler explosion. Depending on the size of the boiler, such explosions can be very catastrophic. I found one on line that was recorded by a security system at a Dana Industrial plant the USA [I added the you-tube link below] of a fairly small boiler and it looks pretty bad. I can only offer my thoughts and prayers for those injured and lost, and those they leave behind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCej2OQSKnY
Thank you IAMPGA for the video. That gives some perspective to the story. A 52-floor tower building probably has a much larger boiler and if it is located at the basement, I can imagine an explosion can cause a lot of damage.
Hum!
Before we all get paranoid about terrorism, let consider the distinct possibility that this whole thing might have simply been caused by a bad burrito.
With a bottle of hot sauce, there is no such thing as a ''Bad Burrito.''
I read the article twice. I can't find anything that says it was a bomb. It says there was an explosion. Do we even know what caused the explosion? I dislike jumping to conclusions, even when they seem obvious. I hope that the death toll does not climb and I hope that people recover from their injuries.
It must be Bushes fault........somehow or a least Cheney's fault. Come on lefties, pour it on.
So our Administration gave the cartels more than guns in fast and furious!
Yes Condolences and prayers for the victims and their families.
Investigation must have already revealed if this appears to be terrorism, or poor design maintenance and operation.
Perhaps it does not matter what the cause was, but not knowing is stressful.
maybe the explosion was caused by some bad burritos or tacos,and a beer while smoking !
Ayeeeee! Mark. Muchos burritos malos con pedos hediondos! Ayeeee!
I dont know about Cheney but it was definitely Haliburtons fault..
Florida Maggie and Kudos for Komrades,You are the only posters whose comments had at least an ounce of compassion.Reading through the other comments I can see why other countries call us The Ugly Americans.My condolences also to the deceased and speedy recovery to the injured.No matter what the cause of this explosion was it is a terrible thing to happen to people who are working to earn a living.These employees of Pemex are fellow human beings and did not deserve to have this happen to them.All of the comments towards the first poster with the exception of the author of this article was not necessary.I can see where kids in this country learn their bullying tactics from.
Why don't you leave, then? Go away. Since you love Mexican workers so much. And take 14 million more with you.
Toni - so you're in with that brain-and-soul-damaged group? how pathetic
Toni: You're typical of the "if you don't ( or do ) like ( or dislike ) what I dislike ( or like ), then get the hell out" types. I see two problems with that.
1. Nobody has to do what you say.
2. Your logic is so specious that I'd guess you'd love to get rid of anyone who'd mount an objection to it.
You don't get to live in a homogenized world, Toni.
Bamboo gas lines?
Ban Towers
It may be a car bomb!!!
This incident caused 14 dead in Mexico. Wow. Where I live (Los Angeles) is bad enough but apparently the Mexicans have virtually taken over California. We are smothered by 14 MILLION in the US. Feels like 100 times that many. One of my coworkers said he doesn't care about this loss and wonders why Mexico doesn't come and get their people and take care of them. I personally have no respect whatsoever for the Mexican government.
The only way to stop this horrendous cancer is to build an enormous electrified wall running the entire length of the border, get rid of the US 14th Amendment, stop educating illegal aliens on the US taxpayers dime and create fruit picking machines so that lame excuse for crawling over the border will be eliminated.
Their illegal presence here is insulting to us. Mexicans are looking for a homeland, they are not interested in assimilating into US culture. A homeland with a ready-made infrastructure.
Tony: Many thanks for holding forth on the topic of the motivations of Mexican immigrants. You're so insightful, especially since you've obviously not wasted a secong wondering what their lives are like.
Most likely a car bomb because it happened in the basement parking, my money is on a the drug cartels.
Is this article about the grammar Police or who blew up Pemex?
State Oil Monopoly, Drug Cartels?
I am thinking unhappy populace which can be a product of both.
What caused the blast? Was it natural gas or terrorism?
May the Souls of the Faithful, Departed through the Mercy of God Rest in Peace. And May the Perpetual Light Shine upon them. May their Souls Rest in Peace. Amen. May God give the Strength and Courage to the families of the Deceased to bear this Huge Loss. May God Bless their Souls. The cause of the explosion has to be investigated. GOD Bless the Mexicans. GOD BLESS MEXICO.
Kevin Valentine Moraes
Mira Raod (Thane)
Kevin Valentine Moraes,Beautifully done.