1 Dead, 26 Injured in Mexico City Gas Leak Explosion
A plastic container that was used to be filled with stolen fuel remains at the site where a massive blaze trigerred by a leaky pipeline took place in Tlahuelilpan, Hidalgo state, Mexico on January 20, 2019. - An explosion and fire in central Mexico killed at least 73 people after hundreds swarmed to the site of an illegal fuel-line tap to gather gasoline amid a government crackdown on fuel theft, officials said. ALFREDO ESTRELLA/AFP via Getty Images

A gas leak explosion in a Mexico City apartment building complex Monday morning has killed one person while injuring 26 people. Out of those injured, 14 were listed in serious condition.

According to a Daily Mail report, four children were among those injured, and two from them later tested positive for COVID.

Surveillance footage shows a passenger vehicle driving past the building at around 10:47 a.m. when a blast had erupted through the four-story building in the south side neighborhood of Benito Juárez in Mexico City.

At least two people were caught running out of the premises within seconds of the powerful explosion that was felt several blocks away.

Separate footage also showed paramedics arriving at the area and aiding some of the injured. Firefighters, on the other hand, were canvassing the building's interior.

Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum also arrived at the scene and inspected the area. The mayor announced the casualties from the explosion.

Some 300 people have been evacuated from neighboring buildings as a precaution, Associated Press reported. Officials from the Mexico City prosecutor's office and experts from other agencies were investigating the source of the gas leak explosion.

Other Gas Explosions in Mexico

Aside from gang violence, Mexico also experienced a lot of disastrous gas explosions in the past, with San Juanico being the world's worst industrial disaster.

In 1984, a series of huge explosions at a Pemex liquid petroleum gas storage plant had erupted, Mexico News Daily reported. The massive fire killed between 500 and 600 people and leaving as many as 7,000 others with severe burns.

Smaller explosions had erupted at the plant until the next morning, as flames engulfed more and more gas tanks. Around 150 homes were completely destroyed in the disaster.

The federal Attorney General's Office, at the time, determined that the company should be held accountable for the explosions and pay compensation to victims.

Some of the victims claimed that they never received a peso even though the explosions damaged their homes. In 2012, another explosion took place in Pemex, which killed 26 people.

According to BBC News, officials said seven people were still missing after the gas plant explosion. Mexican President Felipe Calderon has ordered a thorough investigation into the gas explosion. He noted that a quick reaction of emergency workers prevented a real disaster from happening.

Pemex Director Juan Jose Suarez said there was no evidence that it was a deliberate occurrence, nor was it some kind of attack. The Pemex official added that all evidence was directed to "an unusual accident."

Pemex official Carlos Morales said the plant's maintenance work was carried out just minutes before the explosion. Morales, at the time, said the cause of gas build-up was investigated.

A total of 26 people were killed in the accident, while 46 were injured, and seven more were left unaccounted. Preliminary evidence suggests that the explosion could have been caused by thieves tapping the lines to steal petrol.

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Written by: Mary Webber

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