News / Mexico

100k Mexicans left without water following oil spill

Thursday, 16 April 2015 12:12 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 16 April 2015 1:01 AM ]

Mexican state-owned petroleum company Pemex's workers clean the San Juan river after an oil spill in San Juan Cadereyta, Nuevo Leon state, Mexico, on August 23, 2014. (AFP PHOTO)

Around 100,000 people remain without drinking water in southern Mexico following the contamination of rivers used for water supplies by an oil spill.

The number of people left without fresh water supplies has dropped to 100,000 from its initial 500,000 in the city of Villahermosa, Tabasco state, AFP quoted municipal officials as saying on Wednesday.

They added that two out of the four water filtration plants, which were shut down due to the spill, would remain closed until cleanup crews completely clear the oil near them.

Local schools were also shut down to avoid health problems.

Residents have been warned by authorities to ration water as they would not have access to water supplies until Friday.

On Sunday, a state-run oil pipeline was tapped by thieves, which made large amounts of oil leak into local rivers.

Oil theft has become a lucrative activity for Mexican drug cartels, which reportedly carried out over 3,600 illegal taps last year.

In December 2010, 29 people were killed when an illegal oil tap triggered a large explosion in the town of San Martin Texmelucan in the country’s Puebla state.

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