EFE, EL INFORMADOR, EL MEXICANO, MILENIO (Mexico)
MEXICO CITY- Rescue workers continue to search for survivors after an explosion killed at least 25 people at the headquarters of Mexico's state-owned petroleum company Pemex.
The number of injured had surpassed 100 by early Friday, with some people still believed to be trapped underneath the rubble, reports Mexican weekly Milenio.
[File photo of Pemex Tower At Night by Eneas]
Officials have given no cause of the explosion. The news agency EFE reports that some have suggested an increase in temperature of the complex electrical system is to blame. El Informador notes unconfirmed reports claiming that the explosion occurred in the building where all the top executives have their offices, raising the possiblity that it could have been a terrorist attack.
El Mexicano says that the Mexican Army and Navy, as well as civil protection officers, were called in to take care of the safety and rescue of victims. Pemex noted the presence of the President, Enrique Peña Nieto, who arrived along with the Interior Minister Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong, to the Administrative Center of the company.
Journalists pressed Osorio Chong on reports that the oil company was targeted. "It would be very irresponsible to disclose information that has not been confirmed."
During his return trip to Mexico last night from Korea, the director general of Pemex, Emilio Lozoya Austin, said via Twitter: "We will thoroughly investigate the causes in full coordination with the authorities. The priority right now is to take care of all the injured."
Investigaremos a fondo las causas en plena coordinación con las autoridades. En este momento es prioridad atender a todos los lesionados.
— Emilio Lozoya Austin (@EmilioLozoyaAus) February 1, 2013
