Pemex Oil Refinery Explosion rocks Reynosa, Tamaulipas

By: Jose G. Landa

An explosion at the PEMEX Oil Refinery in the City of Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, on the border with McAllen, Texas, has left 26 people dead and 41 people injured and could rise once the fiery explosion is taken under control. The explosion was reported at around 11:00 a.m. at the Pemex Gas Processing Complex at the Burgos Basin located 19 kilometers on the Reynosa to Monterrey highway.

The risk of a second heavier explosion caused immediate panic as elements of the Pemex Security staff alongside the Mexican National Army and units from the Civil Protection and police evacuated workers from the processing complex and surrounding sectors such as Halliburton and the Institute of Advance Studies.

A five (5) mile square radius around the PEMEX Oil Refinery was immediately closed down and evacuated for fear and safety precautions in the event of a bigger second explosion with much negative consequences.

At the time of the explosion there were over 700 employees working in and around the blast zone at the PEMEX Oil Refinery in Reynosa, Tamaulipas. Authorities fear that the number of deaths and injured workers may rise after the explosion is brought under control or extinguished.

The fiery explosion was felt in the City of McAllen, Texas and other Rio Grande Valley communities. The billowing smoke for the PEMEX Refinery explosion was visible in Texas cities such as McAllen, which is approximately less than 10 miles from the explosion site.