Authorities are working to contain a large fire following a deadly explosion that claimed 26 lives at a plant south of the border in Reynosa.
The deadly blast happened a PEMEX plant near the Kilometer 19 marker of the Reynosa-Monterrey highway just after 11 a.m. Tuesday.
Area residents used the #reynosafollow hashtag of Twitter to report the explosion.
PEMEX officials confirmed on their Twitter account that the blast claimed the lives of 26 workers but it’s not clear how many were wounded.
Company officials said four of the workers killed were PEMEX employees and the other 22 were contractors.
Reynosa firefighters and civil protection confirmed they are at the scene and brought the fire under control before 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Twitter users @xmen2069 and @darenashack were the first to post pictures from the blast.
A Twitter user who identified himself as @Krls_Rdz posted a video of the fire.
Authorities with Mexico’s Federal Highways and Bridges (CAPUFE) temporarily shut down the Reynosa-Monterrey highway in both directions due to the blast.
Residents are reporting that neighboring maquiladoras had been evacuated.
Firefighters from the neigboring city of Rio Bravo were called to provide assistance.
One Rio Grande Valley resident reported that he saw the blast from the Bentsen Tower in downtown McAllen.
McAllen Fire Department officials told Action 4 News that they were not notified about the blast and would not be assisting. Ver más
