Three people have been killed and at least 70 others wounded when a gas tanker truck exploded under a highway overpass in Mexico City, causing widespread damage, according to municipal officials.
The vehicle blew up on a bridge in the densely populated Iztapalapa district in the capital’s east on Wednesday, sending flames and smoke billowing into the surrounding area.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada called the explosion an “emergency” that burned nearly 30 vehicles and left 19 of the injured in grave condition, including the driver of the truck. Among those injured are a baby and a two-year-old child.
Images on television and social media showed the moment of the powerful explosion, the causes of which are not yet known.
People could be seen with what appeared to be serious burns, while others near the disaster zone fled fast-spreading flames that were later brought under control by firefighters.
As emergency vehicles sped by and medics attended to the wounded, groups of neighbours helped pull burn victims from the fire and get them to safety.
Lists of those injured showed some had up to 100 percent of their skin burned off.
Brugada said prosecutors were investigating, but it appeared that the truck, which was transporting 49,500 litres of gas, exploded after it tipped over on the highway.
“This is a horrible accident,” the mayor said at the site of the explosion.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum expressed her condolences to the families of those who died in a post on X and thanked emergency teams for their work.
The gas tanker had the logo of the energy business Silza on its side, but in a call with The Associated Press news agency, a company official who did not want to be identified denied it was their vehicle. The company did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment or more details.
Later in the night, Mexico’s environmental ministry said in a statement that Silza did not have updated insurance paperwork required to transport gas because its application had been rejected.
The explosion occurred on one of the most important roadways flowing out of the Mexican capital on the way to the city of Puebla. The roadway was reopened by Wednesday evening.
Mexico is no stranger to disasters linked to fuel trucks and hydrocarbon infrastructure.
The worst occurred in January 2019, when a fire and subsequent explosion on a pipeline being looted killed 137 people in the town of Tlahuelilpan, in the central state of Hidalgo.
