Galveston hospital to treat victims of illegal pipeline explosion in Mexico

Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston. Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston. Photo: Shriners Hospitals For Children Photo: Shriners Hospitals For Children Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Galveston hospital to treat victims of illegal pipeline explosion in Mexico 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A Galveston hospital will be treating patients who were burned in a deadly pipeline explosion Friday in a small town in Mexico.

A spokesman for Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston confirmed that the hospital would be receiving patients injured in the massive fireball that has so far killed at least 73 people and injured 74 others.

"We are in communication with the Consulate General of Mexico in Houston and with the Michou y Mau Foundation in Mexico regarding the victims of this explosion," said Mel Bower, a spokesman for Shriners Hospital for Children. "Hospitals in Mexico are triaging and treating the children and adults burned in this accident. Shriners Hospitals for Children will be receiving patients who need our care."

NIGHTMARE OF ASH: Death toll climbs in Mexico pipeline blast

The Associated Press reported that the explosion was caused by a leak in an illegal pipeline tap in the small town of Tlahuelilpan, about 62 miles north of Mexico City.

Fuel theft gangs have reportedly drilled illegal taps into oil pipelines 12,581 times in the first 10 months of 2018, an average of about 42 per day. Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that fuel thieves have stolen more than $3 billion worth of fuel in the last year to sell on the black market.

Shriners Hospital for Children has ample experience treating international burn victims. In June, the hospital airlifted seven severely burned patients from a volcano explosion in Guatemala that would benefit from its state-of-the-art facility in Galveston.

The hospital has a multidisciplinary burn unit that includes surgery, treatment, rehabilitation and psychological support.

Nick Powell covers Galveston County for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter and send him tips at nick.powell@chron.com