اردو
  • Iran sympathizes with families of Mexico pipeline blast victims

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi File Photo Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi

    Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi in a message on Saturday expressed sympathy with the families of the victims of Mexico pipeline blast.

    He also wished swift recovery for all the injured in the incident.

    Expressing sympathy with the Mexican government and nation over the deadly incident, he said that Islamic Republic of Iran is standing alongside the Mexican nation and government and is ready to render any help it can.

    According to Reuters, At least 66 people were killed after a pipeline ruptured by suspected fuel thieves exploded in central Mexico, authorities said on Saturday, as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador defended the army despite its failure to clear the site before the blast.

    At a news conference with Lopez Obrador, Hidalgo State Governor Omar Fayad said 66 people were killed and 76 people were injured in the explosion, which happened as local residents scrambled to fill buckets and drums from a gush of fuel from the pipeline that authorities said rose up to 23 feet (7 meters) high.

    Veteran leftist Lopez Obrador launched a crackdown on fuel theft on Dec. 27 and ordered pipelines to be closed temporarily to stop illegal taps draining billions of dollars from the heavily-indebted state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex).