Pemex headquarters in Mexico City rocked by massive explosion ! Gas leak or something more nefarious ? Consider the explosion at Pemex Reynosa facility and the Government silence regarding causation....

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/02/2013224505653179.html

Mexico probes Pemex headquarters blast

Government pledges to determine whether accident or attack caused explosion that killed 33 people in Mexico City. Last Modified: 02 Feb 2013 05:19 inShare Email Print Share Feedback

Mexico's government has vowed to find out whether an explosion that killed 33 people at the headquarters of its state-run oil company Pemex was a deliberate attack or an accident. Government officials have refused to speculate over what caused the explosion that ripped through the annex of the firm's Mexico City skyscraper on Thursday. "The government is determined to find the truth in this incident, whatever it is; whether it was an accident, whether it was carelessness, whether it was an attack," Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam told reporters on Friday. "We don't want to leave anything to the imagination," he said as rescuers wound down the search. President Enrique Pena Nieto has declared three days of national mourning. Parts of the reinforced concrete ground floor of the building caved in, and the ceiling was a mess of twisted metal pipes and ducts. Speculation Speculation over the cause has ranged from a bomb attack, to a gas leak, to a boiler blowing up. "A fatal incident like yesterday's cannot be explained in two hours. We are working with the best teams in Mexico and from overseas. We will not speculate," Pemex's chief executive, Emilio Lozoya, said. Investigators from the army, navy, federal police, prosecutor's office and two foreign firms were involved in the probe. Hundreds of firefighters, police and soldiers aided by dogs dug through rubble for almost 24 hours straight, with the help of floodlights and cranes after the blast caused the mezzanine of the annex to collapse. Thousands of people work in the Pemex complex, but officials said the area hit by the blast has four levels and housed 200 to 250 employees. Mexican Red Cross coordinator Isaac Oxenhaut indicated that the mission to rescue survivors or search for bodies was over. "We rule out there being any trapped victims," he said.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/02/2013131235854783395.html

Blast rocks headquarters of Mexico oil giant

At least 14 killed, 80 others injured after explosion rocked skyscraper of state oil company Pemex in Mexico City. Last Modified: 01 Feb 2013 01:53 inShare3 Email Print Share Feedback

The blast was caused by "an accumulation of gas" in an electricity supply room of the building's lower floors [AFP]

At least fourteen people have been killed and some 80 others injured after an explosion rocked the skyscraper that houses the headquarters of Mexican oil giant Pemex in Mexico City. "What took place was an explosion in the B2 building of the administrative centre. There are injuries and damage on the ground floor and mezzanine," the state-owned company said on Thursday. Al Jazeera's Adam Raney, reporting from Mexico City, said that the interior minister had confirmed the casualties, but there were still people missing. "There are people trapped under rubble still - we have seen a massive rescue operation launched here by firefighters and rescue workers," our correspondent said. The blast was caused by "an accumulation of gas" in an electricity supply room of the building's lower floors, a spokesperson for the city's civil protection agency said. Heavy damage Television images showed heavy damage on the tower's ground floor and people being carted away on stretchers and office chairs. Police have cordoned off the streets around the building [AFP] Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera, who headed to the scene of the accident, said rescue and public safety personnel were at the scene. Pemex, the world's fourth-largest producer of crude with around 2.5 million barrels per day, announced earlier that it had evacuated the building due to a power failure. The company has experienced deadly accidents at its oil and gas facilities in the past. Last year, a huge explosion killed 30 people at a gas plant near the northern city of Reynosa, close to the US border. The previous worst incident took place in December 2010, when an oil pipeline exploded after it was punctured by thieves in the central town of San Martin Texmelucan, leaving 29 dead and injuring more than 50. In October 2007, 21 Pemex workers died during a gas leak on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Most drowned when they jumped into the sea in panic.

http://www.businessinsider.com/5-reported-dead-after-blast-at-headquarters-of-mexicos-state-oil-company-2013-1

14 Dead And Dozens Injured After Explosion Rocks Headquarters Of Mexico's State Oil Company

Kim Bhasin | Jan. 31, 2013, 8:17 PM | 138 | 

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Screengrab from CNN

An explosion at the headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company killed 14 people and injured at least 80 more, according to the country's interior minister.

The blast occurred in the basement of an administration building adjacent to the 52-story tower of Petroleos Mexicanos (or Pemex), according to FOX News.

Three floors of the building were heavily damaged.

"People were screaming. ... You could see pieces of the wall falling to the ground," Pemex attorney Joaquin Borrell Valenzuela told CNN.

Dozens more were trapped inside the building afterwards.

Pemex has not determined a cause thus far, but local media is reporting that it was caused by "machinery." Initially, Pemex had said that the building was evacuated because of issues with its electricity supply but noted that there was an explosion, according to Reuters.

http://www.drugwar101.com/blog/archives/4221

Video of explosion in Pemex Reynosa

12/15/2012

Leaked video of the explosion in Pemex refinery in Reynosa Tamaulipas on 9/18/2012.

The Balance of the explosion was 31 killed and 47 injured.

The video shows two angles from CCTV cameras.

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Information requested

The mayor of Reynosa, Everardo Villarreal Salinas, said that until now, Pemex has refused to submit a report on the causes of the explosion to the city office and said that the company, operated by the government, refuses to reveal the causes of the tragedy.

Villarreal Salinas said Pemex has fortunately paid compensation to the families of workers who died in the tragedy of September 18.

The plant is located at kilometer 19 of the Reynosa-Monterrey highway.