Americas News
Pipeline blast in Colombia kills 11
Dec 23, 2011, 16:51 GMT
Bogota - Eleven people were killed and at least 89 others were wounded Friday when a pipeline carrying petrol exploded in central Colombia.
The explosion in the city of Dosquebradas, in the province of Risaralda, also destroyed 10 homes and damaged 120 others.
'It is a disaster of huge magnitude, because we had been warning people that they should not manipulate the pipeline,' Dosquebradas Mayor Luz Betancur told Colombian radio network Caracol.
Betancur said the Colombian Petroleum Company (Ecopetrol) was investigating the blast and that the authorities suspect it may have happened as a result of locals attempting to steal fuel.
'We have been informed that apparently some people were drilling holes in the pipeline to steal the fuel, which leaked to the Agua Azul river,' Betancur said.
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