At least 15 dead, 36 injured in gas tanker explosion near Mexico City

Source: Associated Press

A gas tanker truck exploded on a highway in the Mexico City suburb of Ecatepec early Tuesday, killing at least 15 people and injuring three dozen.

Salvador Neme, the head of the Citizen Safety Department of Mexico State, which surrounds Mexico City, told local media he hoped the death toll wouldn't rise more.

But Neme said emergency workers were still sifting through the charred remains of vehicles and homes built near the highway, on the northern edge of the metropolis.

A force of hundreds of police, ambulances drivers and paramedics, soldiers and firefighters gathered at the scene, where a giant plume of smoke rose over the area after the explosion around 5 a.m. Tuesday local time.

Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/at-least-15-dead-36-injured-in-gas-tanker-explosion-near-mexico-city-1.1270509