••• TLAHUELILPAN, Mexico (AP) — They were warned to stay away from the geyser of gasoline gushing from the illegally tapped pipeline in central Mexico, but Gerardo Perez says he and his son joined others in bypassing the soldiers.Call me a pussy, but I hear the words "geyser of gasoline"... I know exactly which way I"m running.
By Saturday evening the death toll from Friday’s blaze had risen to 73, with another 74 people injured and dozens more were missing.
A second pipeline burst into flames Friday in the neighboring state of Queretaro as a result of another illegal tap.
The tragedy came just three weeks after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador launched an offensive against fuel theft gangs that have drilled dangerous, illegal taps into pipelines an astounding 12,581 times in the first 10 months of 2018.
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UPDATE: Death toll rises
Mexican Health Minister Jorge Alcocer said on Sunday the number of dead in the incident had risen to 79 people.