Three dead, dozens injured in blast at Pemex plant

An explosion rocked a major petrochemical facility of Mexican national oil company Pemex in the Gulf state of Veracruz on Wednesday, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more, senior officials said.

Luis Felipe Puente, head of federal emergency services, told Reuters that three people had died in the blast and as many as 45 were injured. The governor of Veracruz state, Javier Duarte, told local television that more than 60 people were injured.

Pemex said the explosion, which sent a huge, dark plume of smoke billowing into the sky, occurred at the facility's chlorinate 3 plant near the port of Coatzacoalcos, one of the company's top oil export hubs. The cause was unclear.

Local emergency officials said hundreds of people had been evacuated from the site. Television footage showed an initial burst of flames followed by a tower of thick smoke. A Pemex official said local oil exports were not affected by the blast.

The incident took place at Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo, or PMV, a vinyl petrochemical plant that is a joint venture between Pemex's petrochemical unit and Mexican plastic pipe maker Mexichem.

The plant, operated by Mexichem, is located within Pemex's larger Pajaritos petrochemical complex.

Mexichem said in a brief statement that the explosion occurred in an ethylene unit at the plant. The company could not be immediately reached for further comment.