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Blast kills 25 at headquarters of Mexican oil company

An explosion rocked the headquarters of Mexico’s state-run oil monopoly Pemex, killing 25 people, injuring 101, and damaging three floors of Mexico’s second tallest building before sending plumes of smoke into the Mexico City skyline.

The blast ripped through the lower level of a building adjacent to the Pemex tower in central Mexico City at about 3:45 p.m. local time (4:45 p.m. ET) Thursday, forcing the evacuation of 3,500 employees, company officials said, USA Today reports.

The cause of the blast has not been confirmed. Local media reported that machinery exploded in the basement of an administrative center next to thePemex tower in Mexico City, which has more than 50 floors.

The Mexico City government sent rescue teams with search dogs to look for victims buried in the basement of a building known as B2. Government spokesman Eduardo Sánchez said rescue workers were trying to reach approximately 30 people still trapped inside the office complex. At least one person was pulled alive from the debris late Thursday, the Interior Ministry said.

President Enrique Peña Nieto said via Twitter that searching for survivors and attending to the injured were the top priorities. He tweeted that he would go to the Pemex site to personally oversee rescue operations.

“I deeply regret the deaths of Pemex workers and colleagues. My condolences to the families,” Peña Nieto said via Twitter.

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