Govern­or says locals at the site of the leak attemp­ted to steal some of the leakin­g oilMEXICO CITY: A leaking fuel pipeline triggered a massive blaze in central Mexico on Saturday, killing at least 20 people and injuring another 54, officials said. “What we know is that it was an illegal fuel theft site, and that authorities were aware of it” when it burned, Fayed added. The tragedy comes just as anti-corruption crusader President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador presses implementation of his national fuel theft prevention plan. Meanwhile, authorities have opened 1,700 individual investigations for fuel theft, which became a massive black-market industry in Mexico under previous governments, involving powerful drug cartels and corrupt Pemex insiders. The roots of the fuel theft problem run deep in Mexico, where the practice — known locally as ‘huachicoleo,’ or moonshining — is big business for some communities.

Source: The Express Tribune January 19, 2019 05:48 UTC