Pemex CEO: Bodies recovered from deadly Texas refinery accident

On Friday, Pemex's top executive announced that the two victims of the chemical leak at Deer Park Refinery in Texas had been found and an investigation was launched to determine what caused the fatal incident.

Pemex owns and operates the 312,500-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery located near Houston.

Local Texas officials reported that up to 35 people were treated at the plant for exposure to hydrogen-sulfide gases or transported to hospitals in the area.

At a press conference held on Friday morning, Pemex's Chief Executive Officer Victor Rodriguez stated that the two people who died were not Pemex employees. However, he did not reveal the name of the contractor who employed them.

Rodriguez said that the cause of the chemical release is still unknown.

The new CEO, who assumed his position earlier this month added that the refinery was shut down due to three or four plant closures. Shell previously operated the refinery.

At the same press conference, Energy Minister Luz Gonzalez said that the refinery would be operating normally later in the afternoon. Reporting by David Alire Garcia, Additional reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez, Raul Cortes and Brendan O'Boyle.

(source: Reuters)