'Eye of Fire' in Mexican Waters Snuffed Out, National Oil Company Says
Voice of America
MEXICO CITY - A fire on the ocean surface west of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula early Friday has been extinguished, state oil company Pemex said, blaming a gas leak from an underwater pipeline for sparking the blaze captured in videos that went viral.
Bright orange flames jumping out of water resembling molten lava was dubbed an "eye of fire" on social media due to the blaze's circular shape, as it raged a short distance from a Pemex oil platform. The fire took more than five hours to fully put out, according to Pemex. The fire began in an underwater pipeline that connects to a platform at Pemex's flagship Ku Maloob Zaap oil development, the company's most important, four sources told Reuters earlier.This handout picture released by the Canoas City Hall shows people helping to rescue flood victims in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil on May 4, 2024. Beira Rio stadium is flooded after heavy rain in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, May 7, 2024. A man rows a makeshift boat through an inundated street flooded by heavy rains, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, May 7, 2024. Evacuees ride in a loader after their homes were flooded at Eldorado do Sul, in Rio Grande do Sul Brazil May 7, 2024.