The incident took place in Atotonilco de Tula, Hidalgo.
An alleged “huachicolero” or fuel thief died early Sunday morning after the explosion and fire of a truck full of containers full of fuel illegally extracted from clandestine intakes of Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) in the municipality of Atotonilco de Tula, Hidalgo.
According to the Hidalgo Attorney General’s Office, the unknown person was found completely charred by elements of the Civil Protection of Atotonilco de Tula during the work to put out the fire, whose flames exceeded ten meters in height, which generated fear among the residents. neighbors of the La Toscana neighborhood.
The fire, which was located near the Tula-Jorobas highway, caused smoke that could be observed several kilometers away.
Firefighters and Civil Protection elements from Atotonilco de Tula and nearby municipalities, protected by the army and the National Guard, are at the scene carrying out work to put it out.
The residents of the La Toscana subdivision reported that on Saturday night, unknown individuals in several trucks passed through that town until they reached a desolate place, near a water well where a section of a Petróleos Mexicanos pipeline crosses, whose terminal is located in the Miguel Hidalgo Refinery, located on the borders of Tula and Atitalaquia.
According to the residents, they were “huachicoleros.”
Around 4:30 in the morning, at least four explosions were heard that preceded the fire.
The first explosion that preceded three others was during fuel extraction since a hose was found connected to a clandestine outlet linked to a Pemex oil pipeline.
It is the third fire related to huachicoleros or fuel thieves that has been recorded in Hidalgo in the last nine days.
On February 20 in Tlahuelilpan, a truck connected with a hose by “huachicoleros” to a clandestine tap drilled in a Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) pipeline exploded and caught fire without causing injuries or fatalities.
Three days before, a total of 200 families from the town of Juandhó, in the municipality of Tetepango, Hidalgo, were evacuated at dawn on February 17 due to a fuel leak from a clandestine intake, as reported on that occasion by the General Secretariat of the government of Hidalgo.
On February 16, a corral of the Attorney General’s Office used to guard cars related to illegal acts, as well as containers and pipes with “huachicol”, caught fire for unknown reasons.
On January 28, a hydrocarbon leak occurred that exceeded 20 meters in height due to a clandestine tap in a Pemex pipeline located behind the Miravalle neighborhood sports field, which was controlled without any explosion.
Source: OEM
