People prepare to bury a person who died in the gas pipeline explosion, in the village of Tlahuelilpan, Mexico, Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. A massive fireball that engulfed locals scooping up fuel spilling from a pipeline ruptured by thieves in central Mexico killed dozens of people and badly burned dozens more on Jan. 18. (AP Photo/Claudio Cruz)
January 24, 2019 - 12:33 PM
MEXICO CITY - The death toll in a massive fire at an illegally tapped pipeline in Mexico has risen to 99 after four more injured people died at hospitals.
The Mexican Social Security Institute said Thursday that four victims who were severely burned died between late Wednesday and early Thursday.
The institute continues to treat 11 injured victims, and another 28 are being treated at other hospitals. Many are in extremely poor condition.
The victims were gathering gasoline from an illegal pipeline tap in the central state of Hidalgo on Friday when the gas ignited, littering an alfalfa field with charred bodies.
Almost half of those who initially survived have since died of their injuries.
A total of 14,894 illegal taps were found throughout Mexico in 2018
News from © The Associated Press, 2019