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© UnknownAmmonia leak from a pipline owned by Mexico's Pemex oil monopoly has killed 3 and prompted evacuation of 1,500.
An ammonia leak and ensuring explosion in Central American country of Mexico has left at least three people dead and 10 others injured while prompting mass evacuations.

Local authorities of the country's southern state of Oaxaca stated Tuesday that the leak occurred after construction equipment operated by a private company struck a pipeline that carries ammonia to a nearby petrochemical plant owned by the state's oil monopoly Pemex.

The local government officials further added that the pipeline rupture on Tuesday also resulted in an explosion.

All of the three fatalities were reportedly construction workers employed on a highway expansion project.

The ten injuries came from the explosion while 40 others reportedly fell ill by inhaling ammonia.

Press reports also indicate that nearly 1,500 local residents were evacuated from nearby houses following the incident.

Pemex has reportedly had a poor safety record in the past years.

In January, nearly 40 people were killed in a massive blast at Pemex's Mexico City headquarters.

Investigators said the explosion was caused by a buildup of methane and other gases that had collected for years in the basement floor of the compound, which had no ventilation.