Death toll at 24 in Mexico petrochemical plant explosion

Coatzacoalcos: The death toll from a petrochemical plant explosion in southeastern Mexico has risen to 24, state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos has reported.

Pemex raised the toll from the 13 fatalities previously known and also said 19 people remained hospitalised, with 13 of them in serious condition.

Earlier in the day, desperate relatives gathered outside the plant in the industrial port city of Coatzacoalcos, on Mexico's southern Gulf coast, hoping for news about loved ones still unaccounted for. At the time, officials said 18 workers had been reported missing.

About 30 families massed at a plant entrance road, where a sharp chemical smell still hung in the air about 2 kilometers (a mile) from where the explosion occurred Wednesday afternoon.

Many wore facemasks to ward off the pungent odor. Shoving broke out as people unsuccessfully tried to force their way into the installation.

Some shouted at marines and soldiers who were called in to guard the facility, and they threw rocks at a white government SUV when it arrived at the scene.

Rosa Villalobos traveled about four hours by bus from the city of Veracruz to scour Coatzacoalcos hospitals looking for her son, Luis Alfonso Ruiz Villalobos, a 25-year-old worker at the plant. When she couldn't find him she showed up at the plant entrance.

"What I want is for justice to be done in my son's case, for there to be no impunity," Villalobos said. "I'm going to stay here. Even though I have no money, even though I have nothing to eat, I'm staying put."

Some volunteers brought food and drink to the families. After a while authorities began taking people inside in small groups to see a list of those confirmed dead. Some left crying after seeing their loved ones' names.

Pemex said last night that it was prioritizing the safety of those inspecting the plant, and they were still gradually gaining access to more parts of the site.

The blast in this industrial port city forced evacuations of nearby areas as it sent a toxin-filled cloud billowing into the air and injuring more than 100 workers.

Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, Pemex's director, told Radio Formula that the explosion was caused by a leak of as-yet unknown origin.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto also toured the facility yesterday.

Antonio Mariche, who accompanied the Villalobos family in search of Luis Alfonso, vowed that the families would demand a full account of what happened.

"To the president, to the state governor, to the head of Pemex, we will not allow any more cover-ups like have happened with previous accidents," Mariche said. "They have covered up the numbers (in the past); there have been people who disappeared and regrettably never appeared. ... We will go to the last consequences to make sure this doesn't keep happening."