There are already 2,100 people evacuated from the municipalities of El Salto, Zapotlanejo, Juanacatlán and Tonalá, due to the gasoline leak in a clandestine intake that occurred since 5:30 in the morning in the town of Puente Grande, in Tonalá , Jalisco.
The regional commander of the State Civil Protection and Firefighters Unit, Manuel Martínez, reported that they continue to work together with Pemex Physical Security personnel to try to block off and control the leak.
“We already have a source, a significant leak, with a lot of pressure, a lot of force, which is more than 12 meters away; The teams are coming in to drown and suffocate it and be able to block it,” he explained.
He noted that the number one priority was the evacuation of more than two thousand people in the four municipalities to take them to a safer area.
Likewise, he said that together with Pemex, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE), federal, state and municipal agencies are coordinating the strategy to control the leak.
For his part, the operational director of the same agency, Osvaldo Martinez, indicated that CFE personnel have already cut off the power supply to avoid any risk of accident.
The State Civil Protection and Firefighters Unit installed the command post on Juárez Street at the intersection with Girasol, in the town of Puente Grande, where the different strategies are being analyzed to try to control the leak.
Cloud of vapors spread
Most of the homes are alone since the residents began to leave to go with their families.
At 5:30 they began to smell strong fuel odors and made reports to 911. Shortly after, the authorities arrived, who after confirming that it was a gasoline leak began to alert all the neighbors.
“The firefighters arrived and told us to get out of the houses because there was a fuel leak. We don’t take the children to school, we leave the house,” said Consuelo Vargas, 34 years old.
The few neighbors who walked in the streets did so with face masks to try to mitigate a little the intense smell of fuel caused by the cloud of vapors that advanced 3.5 kilometers around.
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“My head, eyes and even my stomach started to hurt a lot. I couldn’t even have breakfast because I started vomiting,” explained Mrs. Alicia Márquez, 60 years old.