Mexican oil firm reports pipeline explosionsState-run Pemex says blasts were likely sabotage; 12,000 evacuated.
MEXICO CITY - Six explosions believed to be the result of sabotage ripped apart natural gas pipelines for Mexico’s state oil monopoly early Monday, the company said. There were no reported injuries.
Mexican state oil monopoly Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, issued a statement saying it believed the explosions, which forced the evacuation of 12,000 people, were deliberate.
It said the six blasts at about 2 a.m. (3 a.m. ET) caused four fires. At least five pipelines were affected.
A small, left-wing guerrilla group claimed to have attacked a major Pemex gas pipeline in July, forcing at least a dozen major companies, including Honda Motor Co., Kellogg Co. and The Hershey Co., to suspend or scale back operations.
The July explosions affected sections of a major pipeline extending from central Mexico City to Guadalajara in western Mexico.