Flames that raged near a Pemex oil platform took more than five hours to extinguish
A fire on the surface of the ocean in Mexiciâs Yucatan peninsula sparked by a gas leak from an underwater pipeline. Photograph: Manuel López San MartÃn/Twitter
A fire on the surface of the ocean in Mexiciâs Yucatan peninsula sparked by a gas leak from an underwater pipeline. Photograph: Manuel López San MartÃn/Twitter
Reuters
Fri 2 Jul 2021 21.03 EDT
A fire on the ocean surface west of Mexicoâs Yucatan peninsula has been extinguished, state oil company Pemex said, blaming a gas leak from an underwater pipeline for sparking the blaze captured in videos that went viral.
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The fire began in an underwater pipeline that connects to a platform at Pemex’s flagship Ku Maloob Zaap oil development, the company’s most important, four sources told Reuters earlier.
Ku Maloob Zaap is located just up from the southern rim of the Gulf of Mexico.
Pemex said no injuries were reported, and production from the project was not affected after the gas leak ignited around 5:15 a.m. local time. It was completely extinguished by 10:30 a.m.
The company added it would investigate the cause of the fire.
Pemex, which has a long record of major industrial accidents at its facilities, added it also shut the valves of the 12-inch-diameter pipeline.
Fire officials spent more than five hours Friday putting out a fire that erupted in the Gulf of Mexico that officials with Mexico s state-owned oil company said was due to a pipeline leak.
Videos of the blaze west of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula went viral on social media, with users calling the massive circular blaze erupting from within the water an “eye of fire.”
The flames could be seen a short distance away from an oil platform at Petróleos Mexicanos s (Pemex) Ku Maloob Zaap oil field, which Reuters reported is the company’s most important oil center.
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In some footage from the incident, several boats could be seen surrounding the blaze attempting to douse the flames.
Video: Fire Rages In The Middle Of Ocean Near Mexico Video: Fire Rages In The Middle Of Ocean Near Mexico Mexico: Bright orange flames jumping out of water resembling molten lava was dubbed an eye of fire on social media due to the blaze s circular shape.
The fire on the ocean surface has been extinguished, Mexico s state oil company Pemex said.
Mexico City:
A fire on the ocean surface west of Mexico s Yucatan peninsula early on Friday has been extinguished, state oil company Pemex said, blaming a gas leak from an underwater pipeline for sparking the blaze captured in videos that went viral.
July 3, 2021 by archyde
The rupture of an underwater gas pipeline operated by the operator “Pemex” in the Gulf of Mexico literally left the sea burning for five hours on Friday afternoon!
Previously, the line should have partially leaked, it said. Less than five hours later, the pipeline operator assured that the gas leak was under control again. The connecting valves in the pipeline have been closed.
The pictures showed the almost unimaginable before: fiery gas balls shot to the surface of the water, creating a fire eye. The pictures are very reminiscent of a volcanic eruption – the sea was literally trembling.