13 killed in Liquefied Gas truck explosion in Mexico

SANAA, Nov. 17 (YPA) – A tanker truck transporting liquefied gas exploded on Monday morning, killing at least 13 people in west Mexico’s state of Nayarit, local officials said.

According to a report from the Nayarit Attorney General’s Office, the truck crashed and exploded along the highway linking the state capital Tepic with Guadalajara, in western Jalisco state.

The blast impacted three other vehicles, in which authorities found the bodies of 12 people, while a third body found on the tarmac is suspected of belonging to the driver or copilot of the tanker.

“The explosion reached an area of around two hectares, in which four vehicles … were totally damaged: a tanker truck, two compact vehicles and a truck,” the report said.

Video footage broadcast by the local television station showed that the explosion caused massive fire and then black smoke, later as people got out of their cars to escape to a safe haven.

“Rescuers took a 31-year-old woman to a hospital after she suffered severe burns to her body,” Nayarit officials said.

E.M