Mexico City skyline. Accessed via Wikimedia Commons
Eight people lost their lives September 10 with 90 others injured in Mexico City after a fuel tanker carrying more than 13 thousand gallons of liquefied petroleum gas crashed, resulting in a catastrophic explosion.
CNN reported that the shockwave generated from the explosion damaged 32 cars parked in the nearby area, followed by flames and billowing smoke seen from over the southern section of the capital.
So far it has been released that 21 of the 90 injured are in critical condition, with witnesses on the scene describing seeing victims emerge from the flames whose entire bodies appeared to have been burned, and with clothing melted into their skin.
Current President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum released the following statement in a recent social media post regarding the tragic incident.
“We express our solidarity and support to the families of the people who unfortunately passed away and to those injured.”
The local prosecutors made known that they are working hand in hand with forensic experts and Mexican federal authorities to determine the cause of the accident.
Locals described seeing a Silza logo on the over turned truck and trailer, but a company official stepped forward to deny any outright involvement in the incident.
It has been revealed by the Mexico City newspaper El Universal that Silza belongs to parent company Grupo Tomaz, a Mexico based business with over fifty years in the practice of transporting, importing and storage of liquefied petroleum gas.
Reports came in late Wednesday asserting that Silza failed to update their insurance paperwork which is mandated to transport gas and other fuel, with the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources issuing a statement saying the company’s application had been rejected.