A Petroleos Mexicanos gas platform on the Gulf Coast exploded early Friday morning, and some people are missing, according to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
AMLO, as the president is known, said that Pemex firefighters and the navy were working to put out the blaze. As many as three to four people were unaccounted for, while the remaining personnel had been evacuated. The Mexican state oil company will continue to issue updates on the situation, AMLO said.
Pemex has come under scrutiny in the past for its environmental and safety record after frequent accidents and explosions at its facilities. Fires hit half of its refineries in the second half of May, while the company also reported a spate of accidents at three separate facilities in February, including at its Texas Deer Park plant.
In 2021, a huge gas explosion near its offshore oil platform – dubbed the “eye of fire” – sparked criticism from famed environmental activist Greta Thunberg and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders. Another offshore platform accident that year resulted in five deaths and Pemex was forced to cut output by a quarter.
Friday’s incident occurred at the Nohoch Alfa platform in the Cantarell complex.
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