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An oil tanker was engulfed in flames in the Gulf of Mexico

An explosion aboard an oil tanker owned by Mexican state oil company Pemex in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday led to a fire that consumed the ship and forced the crew to evacuate, in what is the latest accident to plague the struggling state-run firm.

The blaze on the tanker "Burgos" occurred about 8 miles off the coast of Boca del Rio in southeastern Veracruz state and all the crew were able to make it off the ship and get back to shore safely, Pemex said in a tweet.

Images tweeted by Pemex showed the vessel giving off plumes of smoke as another boat hosed the tanker. According to Mexican news site Sin Embargo, the Burgos was carrying 80,000 barrels of diesel fuel, 71,000 barrels of unleaded gasoline, and 16,000 barrels of desulfurized gasoline.

Pemex Mexican tanker fire in Gulf of Mexico
Pemex Mexican tanker fire in Gulf of Mexico

Mexican navy

Other Mexican navy ships moved into the area to put barriers in place in case of a leak from the tanker, Sin Embargo reported.

The fire follows a series of other mishaps at Pemex, which is coping with major losses, increased competition at home, sharp budget cuts and lower revenue due to the oil price rout.

In April, more than 30 people died and dozens were injured in an explosion at a petrochemical plant in southeast Veracruz state, a joint venture between Pemex and another firm.

In 2013, at least 37 people were killed by a blast at Pemex's Mexico City headquarters, and 26 people died in a fire at a Pemex natural gas facility in northern Mexico in 2012.

A 2015 fire at a Pemex platform in the Bay of Campeche affected oil output and cost the company up to $780 million. (Reporting by Natalie Schachar and Noe Torres; Editing by Dave Graham and Matthew Lewis)

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