Pemex pipeline blast in Mexico kills one

At least one person has been killed and more than a dozen have been injured as a pipeline of state oil firm Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) exploded in the central Mexican state of Puebla after it was breached by suspected fuel thieves, authorities say.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Twitter one person had so far died and 15 more were injured by the overnight blast in the San Pablo Xochimehuacan municipality, adding that 1400 rescue workers had been mobilised.

In a news conference hosted by the state government of Puebla, officials said that within a radius of 1 kilometre of the explosion, about 2000 people had been relocated.

Puebla’s governor, Miguel Barbosa, said the blast was sparked by a gas leak caused by an illegal fuel tap.

Lopez Obrador said the fire was under control.