Mexico City: Twenty-four people died after a leak caused a
deadly petrochemical plant blast, and the death toll could still rise, Mexican
oil giant Pemex said on Thursday, the latest in a series of fatal accidents to
batter the company.
The blast occurred at a vinyl
petrochemical plant that is a joint venture between Pemex’s petrochemical unit
and majority owner Mexican plastic pipe maker Mexichem. Pemex operates
the larger petrochemical complex where the plant was located, known as
Pajaritos.
The plant produces some 900 tons a
day of vinyl chloride monomer, also known as chloroethene, an industrial
chemical used to produce plastic piping. The joint venture had forecast sales
of $260 million this year. Shares in Mexichem closed 5.2 percent lower on
Thursday.
Pemex CEO Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, who traveled
to the site of Wednesday’s blast near the port of Coatzacoalcos, one of Pemex’s
top oil export hubs, said that it was unclear what caused the accident.
The massive explosion at the
facility’s chlorinate three plant in the Gulf state of Veracruz also injured
136 people, 13 of them seriously. Another 18 people were unaccounted for, and
one badly damaged part of the plant had yet to be scoured.
Pemex said on Thursday that it was
prioritizing the safety of those inspecting the plant, and they were still
gradually gaining access to more parts of the site.
Calling it a “tragic accident”, President
Enrique Pena Nieto headed to the region late Thursday to tour the facility with
local officials and speak with victims and their families.
Pemex said it and another company,
Mexichem, operated the Clorados three plant of Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo,
which produces the hazardous industrial chemical vinyl chloride.
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