Explosion Hits Mexico City’s Pemex Headquarters

Mexico City, Mexico — An explosion rocked the Mexico City offices of Pemex, the country’s state-owned oil company on Thursday.

The explosion has killed at least 14 people and injured 80 at the oil giant’s headquarters.

The blast also damaged three floors of the building and sent hundreds of people running into the streets. A large plume of smoke hovered over Mexico City’s skyline, reports ABC News.

The explosion originated in the basement garage of the building, close to the company’s 54-floor tower. It is located in a busy commercial and residential area, according to Mexico’s Interior Department spokesman Eduardo Sanchez.

NBC News notes that the main floor and the mezzanine of the auxiliary building owned by Pemex sustained heavy damage. Windows as far as three floors up were blown out. Pemex stated on Twitter:

“An explosion took place in the B2 building of the administrative center. There are injuries and damage on the ground floor and mezzanine.”

There is no official cause for the explosion in Mexico City, though initial reports say there may have been a build up of gas. Images on television showed people being evacuated from the building. Some were taken from the damaged floors on office chairs and gurneys.

Emergency crews also worked to load people onto stretchers and into helicopters to be airlifted to the hospital. Cristian Obele, who was in the building at the time of the explosion, recalled:

“The place shook, we lost power and suddenly there was debris everywhere. Colleagues were helping us out of the building.”

Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong stated that the death toll will likely rise as crews work through the damaged building.

Pemex has seen deadly accidents at its oil and gas facilities in the past, though not in an office building. Thirty people died last year after an explosion hit a gas plant near Reynosa, which is close to the US border.

Pemex president Enrique Pena Nieto stated that an investigation will be launched into the cause of the Mexico City explosion at Pemex’s headquarters.

[Image via Twitter]