13 Workers Dead In Chemical Plant Explosion
Thirteen workers were killed and over one hundred injured in a petrochemical plant explosion on the Mexican southern Gulf coast on Wednesday afternoon. The detonation and subsequent fire resulted in widespread evacuations as a toxic cloud emerged from the plant and into the air over the port city of Coatzacoalcos.
Of the 136 workers injured in the blast, 88 remained hospitalized, according to the state oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). The explosion was powerful enough to be felt as far as 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away, according to Veracruz state Governor, Javier Duarte.
According to Pemex, the blast happened in the Clorados 3 plant of Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo, which is operated by Mexichem in partnership with Pemex. Vinyl chloride, an industrial chemical used to manufacture PVC products, is a hazardous chemical used in the plant at the center of this tragedy.
Besides the 13 workers killed, two workers were considered to be in critical condition from chemical burns to their airways. A majority of the workers sustained injuries consisting of minor burns, broken and fractured bones, and contusions.
Pemex has reported several serious recent incidents at plants where Pemex operates or owns the facilities. Two separate incidents occurred in separate facilities in February of this year. In early February, one worker was burned to death in a fire at the same facility where the blast just occurred. On an offshore Pemex platform in the Gulf of Mexico in February of this year, two workers were killed and eight were injured in a fire.