Mexico City (Agencies): The death toll of Friday’s fuel pipeline blast has risen to 71, with scores more injured, say Mexico authorities.
The explosion occurred after the line was ruptured by suspected fuel thieves in the town of Tlahuelilpan, the Hidalgo State governor said on Saturday.
At a news conference with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Governor Omar Fayad said 76 people had also been injured in Friday evening’s explosion, which happened as people tried to fill containers with fuel.
Among the 71 injured were three women and a child of 12, he said.
Dozens of burned bodies lay in the charred field where the blast occurred in the municipality of Tlahuelilpan.
The forensic experts inspected and photographed the remains in the area, cordoned-off by soldiers and other military personnel.
Half-burned shoes and clothes, as well as buckets and drums used by people to collect fuel, were spotted in the field.
President Lopez Obrador who took office in December last year has vowed to keep up the fight against fuel theft, which has cost the country billions of dollars in the last few years.
