A Firestorm In The Gulf of Mexico, Environmentalists Have Slammed Mexico

MEXICO CITY — After a gas leak at an undersea pipeline released a subaquatic flame that appeared to boil the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, environmentalists chastised Mexico’s state-owned oil corporation on Saturday.

According to Greenpeace Mexico, the disaster on Friday looked to be caused by the collapse of an underwater valve, and it highlights the hazards of Mexico’s fossil-fuel-promoting policies.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has placed a large wager on digging new wells and purchasing or constructing oil refineries. Oil, he claims, is “the finest business in the world.”

The fire, which took five hours to put out, “demonstrates the significant hazards that Mexico’s fossil fuel model has for the environment and people’s safety,” according to Greenpeace.

Greta Thunberg, a climate activist, shared a video of the enormous flame on Twitter.

“In the meantime, the people in power proclaim themselves ‘climate leaders’ as they build new oilfields, pipelines, and coal power plants – giving new oil licenses to explore potential oil drilling sites,” Thunberg wrote. “This is the planet they’ve left for us to inherit.”

An underwater gas pipeline broke near a drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Mexico’s state-owned oil firm.

Firefighting boats were deployed by Petroleos Mexicanos to spray extra water on the flames.

The event at the offshore Ku-Maloob-Zaap field did not result in any injuries, according to Pemex.

The leak happened around 150 yards (meters) from a drilling platform early Friday morning. The gas leak was brought under control around five hours later, according to the firm.

It was unknown how much harm the gas leak and marine firestorm had done to the ecosystem.