When “illegal engineering” goes wrong (as always)
Ah, the State of Mexico, that fertile land where the most… creative ideas for informal commerce flourish. This time, a group of entrepreneurs (read: huachicoleros) decided that digging a tunnel 300 meters from a Pemex pipeline was the perfect plan. Spoiler: it wasn’t.
On Thursday night, nature – or perhaps karma – said “not here” and the tunnel became a makeshift grave for six people. Because nothing says “well-planned project” like being crushed to death in a clandestine hole. The neighbors? They initially prevented the rescue because, of course, why let the experts do their job when you can improvise with shovels and good intentions?
Uses and customs vs. emergency protocols
In a twist that no one saw coming (lie, we all saw it coming), the residents insisted on recovering the bodies on their own. Reason? “Uses and customs”. Because nothing honors the dead more than removing them from a landslide without professional equipment, as if they were potatoes from a poorly dug field. Of course, after a dialogue (read: hours of discussion), they finally handed over the bodies. How generous.
Meanwhile, Pemex – that company that loses more fuel than a tamalero on a bicycle – didn’t even flinch. Overall, what are six more deaths in the history of avoidable disasters? The remains are now in the morgue, waiting for someone to claim them… or for another tunnel to collapse in the meantime.
Moral: If you’re going to steal fuel, at least hire a civil engineer. Or better yet, dedicate yourself to selling tamales.
Did this news outrage you? Share it and join the debate about insecurity in hydrocarbon theft. Explore more stories about Mexico’s most dangerous “businesses.”
