Another Pemex Pipeline Explosion, This Time in Guanajuato

Another Pemex pipeline exploded in the Mexican causing a major fire and explosions, according to local media.

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A section of pipeline of the Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) state company exploded late Saturday night in Guanajuato state, inciting a major fire that reach 15 meters into the air, torching a vehicle parked nearby. No fatalities or injuries have been reported, says El Universal newspaper.

According to the media outlet the area that exploded, near the capital city of Leon, was being illegally tapped for fuel. The Leon city fire department says it has activated "a series of actions to mitigate the magnitude of its effects and avoid a tragedy," including blocking off the exploded pipeline area that runs through La Providencia community.

By early Sunday morning Leon’s Secretary of Public Safety reported that the fire had been completely extinguished.

A Jan. 18 oil pipeline explosion in the state of Hidalgo left as many as 135 people dead from the initial combustion and subsequent burn wounds.

On the day of the tragedy, people gathered around a leaking pipeline in Tlahuelilpan at about 5 pm with bottles and containers to collect the fuel for use and sale amid national gasoline shortages meant to combat fuel stealing in the first place.

On Dec. 27 President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) launched a crackdown on fuel theft ordering the temporary closedown of certain pipelines, including the one in Tlahuelilpan, to prevent the illegal oil taps that have cost the heavily-indebted and corrupted Pemex US$3.4 billion in losses in 2018 alone.​​​​​​​