Sep 10, 2007 8:40 am US/Central
Report: Explosions Rip Apart Mexico Gas Pipelines
State-Run Oil Company Suspects Sabotage
MEXICO CITY (CBS) ―
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An army checkpoint monitors a road near site of gas pipeline explosion in Queretaro, Mexico, on July 10, 2007.
AP
Several explosions believed to the work of result of sabotage ripped apart pipelines for Mexico's state oil monopoly early Monday, the company said. There were no injuries.
The 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.
A small, left-wing guerrilla group claimed to have attacked a major Pemex gas pipeline running between Mexico City and Guadalajara in July. At least a dozen major companies, including Honda Motor Co., Kellogg Co. and The Hershey Co., were forced to suspend or scale back operations.
The July explosions affected different sections of a major pipeline extending from central Mexico City to Guadalajara, the industry-rich capital of the western state of Jalisco.
Those attacks sent the Mexican government scrambling to increase security at "strategic installations" across Mexico. It was not clear what security measures were in place at the pipelines that exploded Monday.
Pemex said Monday's explosions affected at least five pipelines in Veracruz, but reported no deaths or injuries.
(© 2007 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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