The Mexican attorney general’s office has launched a probe into a Pemex platform blast that killed four workers and injured over 50 others earlier this week in the Gulf of Mexico.
Four workers have been confirmed dead after a blaze broke out just before dawn on Wednesday and engulfed the Abkatun Permanente processing platform operating in the Bay of Campeche.
The attorney general’s office has opened an investigation that could lead to potential criminal charges including property damage and homicide, AFP said.
Investigators working for the Criminal Investigation Agency, including agents who specialize in explosives and fires, have been called on to aid in the investigation.
Mexico’s National Agency of Industrial Security and Environmental Protection for the Hydrocarbon Sector (ASEA) has also sent investigators to the platform.
Pemex evacuated 301 workers and sent 54 workers to the hospital after a fire started at the processing platform’s dehydration and pumping area.
Two workers listed in serious condition were transported to a hospital in Mexico City on Thursday.
State owned Pemex said there was no evidence of a major spill and that a small amount of hydrocarbon runoff has been contained by a specialized vessel.
Eight firefighting vessels were deployed to the scene and extinguished the fire around 8 p.m. Wednesday night.
Work at the 40,000 barrel per day processing platform has been suspended, Reuters said.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.
