accident liés au pétrole

"Il y avait eu avant une fuite dans la canalisation, et les gens essayaient de récupérer l'essence"

Those thefts amounted to almost one million barrels in the first four months of the year, a level almost 50 percent more than what thieves stole in the same period of 2010, according to the Petroleos Mexicanos oil company, also known as Pemex.

Pemex director Juan Jose Suarez Coppel said the stolen fuel was the equivalent of 100 tanker trucks per day.

"Fuel theft has increased in the last few years," said Energy Secretary Jose Antonio Meade. "The gangs that participate in these crimes are increasingly sophisticated, better organized and many times they have carried out these thefts using the latest technology."

Mexican officials say drug cartels have been involved in the thefts, often by tapping into state-owned pipelines. The thieves will sometimes inject water into pipelines to cover up the drop in pressure caused by thefts or drill a second tap near the first to continue siphoning off oil if the first is detected.