Veracruz: Thieves ruptured a pipeline that crosses the Gulf coast state of Veracruz, spilling at least 300,000 liters of diesel fuel and forcing the evacuation of 350 people.

The diesel leaked across at least 100 square meters in the city of Rio Blanco, 130 kilometers west of Veracruz city said state civil protection director Ranulfo Marquez Hernandez. No one was injured, he said.

State-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said 1,500 people had been evacuated from the area for their safety. The company had not yet determined how much fuel had escaped, but said it plugged the leak soon after it was discovered and began cleaning the area.

"These types of irresponsible acts imperil the lives of people in nearby communities and seriously damage the environment," Pemex said in the second of two statements it issued on the incident yesterday.

Area residents told city officials that individuals who were clearly not workers for Pemex had been illegally siphoning the fuel since Wednesday morning. After the pipe ruptured, diesel shot eight metres into the air from the 60-centimeter pipeline, Marquez said.

"Residents filed complaints," he said. "Some said the thieves had been able to take away eight tanker trucks filled with stolen diesel before the accident happened."

Mexican authorities are struggling to stop the theft of fuel from Pemex. A Veracruz smuggling network supplies an extensive black market for fuel.

Source : PTI