MEXICO CITY (AP) — Families clustered outside hospitals awaiting word of their loved ones Thursday after the crash and explosion of a tanker truck a day earlier on a Mexico City highway that killed at least eight people and injured 90.
Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada said Thursday the death toll had risen to eight, with 67 others still hospitalized, 22 of those in critical condition.
‘A horrible accident’ Outside hospitals in Mexico City and southeast of the capital, neighbors and officials handed out food and water in solidarity with the victims.
Not an isolated incident The crash occurred on the highway in the densely populated Iztapalapa district in the east of Mexico City.
The burned wreck of the gas tanker carried the logo of the company Silza.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Three days after a tanker truck crashed and exploded on a Mexico City highway, killing at least eight people and injuring 90 more, families gathered outside hospitals on Thursday to await word of their loved ones.
First responders raced to the scene as the fire consumed over two dozen vehicles, leaving a horrific scene of severely burned survivors stumbling in the street in torn clothing. The injured were burned in the second and third degrees.
The number of fatalities has increased to eight, according to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada, who also reported that 67 people are still in hospitals, 22 of whom are in critical condition.
The incident on Wednesday brought liquid propane, which is used by the majority of homes and businesses for cooking and water heating, to Mexico in the form of thousands of trucks that rumble through the country every day.
Although they stated that their investigation is still ongoing, prosecutors said the truck seemed to have flipped as a result of excessive speed.
A preliminary review, according to regulators, showed that the truck, which was transporting over 13,000 gallons (49,500 liters) of gas, lacked current insurance that permitted it to transport its cargo. The company denied this.
Although she did not give specifics, President Claudia Sheinbaum stated on Thursday that she had directed her energy secretary to create new safety regulations for fuel transportation.
“Absolute chaos”.
On Thursday morning, Beatriz Aguilar waited for news of her 15-year-old son Adrián, who was trapped in the explosion while riding a bus home from school, while sipping coffee outside a hospital in the southern part of Mexico City.
His last communication with her was a voicemail he sent to a family group message informing them that he was being taken to the hospital and requesting assistance. She claimed that she hasn’t left since Wednesday afternoon after rushing to get to the hospital.
She claimed that the hospital hallways where her son was receiving treatment were still in “complete chaos” on Thursday.
Due to his injuries, Aguilar has not been able to physically speak to her son. Adrián’s face and eye, which sustained second-degree burns, are what she said most concern her.
Her son’s clothes were stuck to his skin, so the doctors had to cut them off before she could wait for him to have surgery. She uttered, “I just hope he’s okay.”.
“A terrible mishap.”.
In solidarity with the victims, residents and government representatives distributed food and water outside hospitals in Mexico City and southeast of the capital. A bag of sweet bread was carried by 33-year-old Pilar Domínguez.
Domínguez, who lives in close proximity to the scene of the collision, was driving with her daughter, age nine, when she heard the explosion. On Wednesday, she felt the earth tremble and the surrounding area catch fire.
As she attempted to reassure her daughter, she claimed to have seen crowds of people screaming and running from the scene. She recalls a woman who was running with most of her hair and skin burned off. As the smell of smoke filled her car, it made her shiver.
She claimed that when she eventually arrived home, she started crying.
“People were crying, yelling, and running,” she claimed.
She and her husband managed to scrape together enough cash on Wednesday night to purchase coffee and sweet bread, which they then started distributing to relatives who were waiting for news outside hospitals throughout the city.
In addition to helping, it’s a way to express gratitude for our continued existence, she said.
Some of the injured were completely burned. A baby and a two-year-old were among the injured.
After touring the scene, Brugada declared, “This is a terrible accident.”. In a post on X, Sheinbaum thanked the emergency teams for their efforts and offered her condolences to the families of the deceased.
Not a singular occurrence.
The collision happened on the highway in the crowded Iztapalapa neighborhood to the east of Mexico City. Neighbors fled in groups to assist in removing burn victims from the fire and transporting them to safety as emergency vehicles sped by and medical personnel treated the injured.
A burned-out gas tanker with the Silza company’s logo on it. An unnamed representative of the company denied it was their car when The Associated Press called.
In a later statement, Silza Transport Company stated that it was taking action to assist impacted families and that it currently had three insurance policies to cover damages and the victims.
According to a statement from the federal organization in charge of overseeing industrial safety in the hydrocarbon industry, Silza lacked the most recent insurance documentation needed to transport gas.
When asked for comment via email, Silza did not immediately reply.
Throughout the last ten years, there have been multiple incidents involving tankers.
In the western state of Nayarit, a double tanker carrying liquid propane flipped on a highway in 2020, killing thirteen people as the fire spread to other cars.
Five people were killed and numerous others were injured in 2015 when gas leaked into a Mexico City maternity hospital during a delivery on a smaller propane truck. The gas then blew up the majority of the building.
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