Eight dead in Mexican tanker blast
A massive explosion aboard the Mexican-flagged tanker Quetzalcoatl killed at least eight people yesterday while the vessel was undergoing repairs alongside at the Pajaritos petrochemical complex. The 44,653 DWT tanker, which is owned by the national government and chartered to Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), was finishing offloading a cargo of gasoline when a spark from a worker’s torch entered a tank vent. A company statement also added that the cargo tanks were virtually empty when the mishap occurred at about 1300 hours local time. Casualties included three Pemex workers, three workers employed by Lopez Garcia SA de CV – the company doing the repairs – and two unidentified persons. At least nine others were injured and 400 port workers were evacuated from the port, which is located in the state of Veracruz in southeastern Mexico. "Port operations are not affected, this was an isolated incident and everything is working normally," a Pemex spokesman said adding that the fire on the ship was under control. Built in 1979, the single-hull vessel was primarily used by Pemex for domestic carriage.
