New Delhi: A heavy underwater fire has erupted near an oil platform of the Mexican Pemex company in the Gulf of Mexico, media reported.
The blaze started at about 4:00 local time (09:00 GMT), 400 meters (over 1,300 feet) of the Ku-Charly oil platform, not far from the shore of the Mexican state of Campeche, the Televisa broadcaster reported on Friday.
Watch here:
? Sobre el incendio registrado en aguas del Golfo de México, en la Sonda de Campeche, a unos metros de la plataforma Ku-Charly (dentro del Activo Integral de Producción Ku Maloob Zaap)
Tres barcos han apoyado para sofocar las llamas pic.twitter.com/thIOl8PLQo
— Manuel Lopez San Martin (@MLopezSanMartin) July 2, 2021
The fire was caused by a gas leak from a pipeline at a depth of 78 meters. No employees of the oil platform were injured, there was also no evacuation from the facility.
Later, Pemex said that by 10:45 local time, the fire had been extinguished as a result of a five-hour operation that involved three firefighting vessels.
The Gulf of Mexico is literally on fire because a pipeline ruptured pic.twitter.com/J4ur5MNyt1
— Brian Kahn (@blkahn) July 2, 2021
The company also noted that the blaze had erupted at 5:15, not 4:00, as it was previously reported.
Pemex added that it had launched an investigation into the incident.