Mexico City: Explosion due to accumulation of gas in building leaves 1 dead and 29 injured

An explosion due to the accumulation of liquefied petroleum gas (LP) in an apartment of a residential building in Mexico City left one dead and 29 wounded, authorities said Monday.

The explosion registered in the middle of the morning destroyed part of the facade, walls and internal floors of a residential building belonging to the Benito Juárez mayor’s office. Of the total injured, eleven were transferred to health centers and one later died as a result of the injuries, the Mexico City mayor’s office reported in a statement.

According to the preliminary assessment, the explosion originated from “the accumulation of LP gas precisely in an apartment on the third level,” explained the mayor of Benito Juárez, Santiago Taboada.

The explosion registered in the middle of the morning destroyed part of the facade, walls and internal floors of a residential building belonging to the Benito Juárez mayor’s office. (Photo: Gustavo Graf Maldonado / Reuters)

In Mexico City, a strong explosion that was allegedly due to accumulated gas, has injured 22 people, four of them have required hospitalization.
The Head of Government is at the scene.
📹 via @unionderepas pic.twitter.com/0Gl13u2WU9

– AJ + Spanish (@ajplusespanol) August 16, 2021

The Attorney General’s Office and other agencies began investigations to verify the status of the building and determine how the explosion originated, said Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, adding that neighboring buildings where only broken windows were reported will also be evaluated.

The place where the incident was recorded was taken by dozens of police, firefighters and officials from other security forces who cordoned off the road to restrict the passage and facilitate the entry of ambulances to attend to the injured.