MEXICO CITY — A gas tanker exploded beneath a highway overpass on the city’s east side on Wednesday, sending a massive column of smoke into the sky and leaving 18 people injured, authorities said.
Images and video circulated online by local officials and on social media showed a ball of flames consuming the tanker as people ran from the scene and emergency vehicles sped toward the blaze. Two men appearing to suffer severe burns were visible in some clips, their clothing badly burned and stuck to their skin. An empty passenger bus parked alongside the tanker was also gutted by fire.
Mexico City’s firefighters confirmed the number of injured and said crews, along with medics, were on site to extinguish the fire and attend to those hurt. City officials, including the mayor’s office, said emergency teams were dispatched immediately after the blast and coordinated the response. Authorities did not immediately provide a cause for the explosion.
The incident occurred under an overpass on the east side of the capital, an area that includes a mix of residential and commercial corridors and is often heavily trafficked. The blaze produced thick smoke that could be seen for blocks. Local emergency units worked to control the flames and to secure the area to prevent further injury.
Images and video from the scene showed multiple emergency vehicles and first responders treating wounded people and preparing them for transport to hospitals. Officials provided no immediate update on the condition of the most seriously injured or whether any fatalities had occurred.
Gas tanker accidents can produce large, fast-moving fires and pose serious risks to nearby people and property; investigators customarily seek to determine whether mechanical failure, human error or other factors contributed to an incident. City authorities said they would continue to investigate the circumstances of Wednesday’s explosion and urged the public to avoid the area while emergency operations continued.
Traffic officials and municipal services typically coordinate to reopen routes once hazards are cleared and investigations permit, but no timetable for reopening the affected overpass was announced. Emergency crews remained at the site into the evening as they completed fire suppression, medical treatment and scene assessment.