Three workers from the Mexican oil monopoly Pemex were killed by inhaling toxic fumes when the gas pipeline they were working on suffered a leak Oct. 8. The workers were repairing the Potrero del Llano-Naranjos pipeline in Alamo Temapache, Veracruz, which had ruptured Sept. 26. Pemex said there was "no risk to the population." Veracruz state authorities complained that the workers had not been outfitted with proper safety equipment. (EFE [2], Milenio [3], Oct. 8)
When guerillas blow up the pipelines, it at least rates some international headlines. But such deadly accidents are alarmingly routine in the Mexican oil industry, and go largely unreported, even within Mexico.
See our last posts on Mexico [4] and the struggle in Veracruz [5].
