A Field of Fire: The Tlahuelilpan Pipeline Disaster 2019 | Short Documentary | Plainly Difficult

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks for watching, check out me other bits! Cd and Cassette Tape Album for sale: madebyjohn.bandcamp.com/album/ambient-archiv-1 Outro song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnebqqB8d9qanbMsi=GP4fMXa1O4F9UXf_ Instagram: instagram.com/plainly.john/ Patreon: www.patreon.com/Plainlydifficult Merch: plainly-difficult.creator-spring.com Twitter:twitter.com/Plainly_D

[@pistachiopoptarts]

Do you actually sell cassette tapes? If so, that's awesome.

[@SupersuMC]

Cassettes are a thing again?

[@C05597641]

I watched the raw footage with sound. Very disturbing. Do not recommend.

[@charliekezza]

Tapes used to be the great but if I have to choose I'd pick a record as my first choice and then digital

[@Bill-mj8hf]

For your Health!

[@tsbrownie]

Just before I went to work for a gas pipeline company, a guy had tried to tap into one of our high pressure lines. He had used a backhoe to expose the pipe. He had a drill rig with a clamp, which would have been the right way to tap the pipe, except his setup was not for a 3000 psi line. They extracted his charred body from the pit, with the drill embedded in his chest. Moral of the story: Don't.

[@NinoJoel]

You need to have some serious amounts of brain rott when you try to drill into a mental pipe with an arcing drill motor

[@krissteel4074]

Yeah everyone likes cheap petrol or gas, but its not exactly something that you want an idiot in charge of

[@lorenmax2.013]

After hearing lots of stories with morals I have to say this one is the most useful one

[@giroromek8423]

Also : rekt

[@Badger13x]

Dealing with hydraulics I am aware of how little pressure it takes to damage the frail bodies we have, unfortunately most people have no idea. Your every weekend pressure washer can mess you up.

[@Epic_C]

Who would have thought that a bunch of flammable fuel gushing out of a pipe uncontrollably would catch fire? I would have never have guessed that would happen!

[@KenFullman]

And getting soaked in a fountain of gasolene is totally worth it, if you're getting a free bucketfull of fuel. You'll likely have a rash over your entire body for the next few weeks and your clothes will stink of the stuff so you might as well throw them away but a bucket of fuel is a bucket of fuel.

[@tonygalvan2279]

@@KenFullman and that is why we had the biggest human made bbq in mexico for that. they reaped what they sow

[@glenquagmire4340]

Common sense is not common in some places.

[@sergiobueno96]

​@@glenquagmire4340it's a luxury in México (speaking from experience)

[@wobblybobengland]

A bunch of flammable fuel? Is that the correct collective noun?

[@pastorjerrykliner3162]

Having lived in Iowa back in the early 2000's, when "Meth making" was epidemic, we had several tragedies resulting when a local knucklehead(s) would try tapping high-pressure anhydrous Ammonia tanks that farmers had to fertilize their cornfields. It usually went like this: one or two people would ride out on a four-wheeler in the middle of the night to tap the AA tank, they'd break a valve or something and the liquid AA would come spraying out at several hundred PSI, they'd be found dead the next morning, and a massive hazmat response would follow.

[@MScotty90]

Man I bet that smelled great

[@mavfin8720]

Yeah, but it was usually out in the open air, so it dissipated fairly quickly once the discharge was over. Darwin award recipients...

[@sonjastarr1364]

Happened nearby my hometown once. They evacuated several blocks. Stuff smells awful and makes your eyes burn and run. Nauseating too. Yuck. Be careful out there folks.

[@ttpechon2535]

That stuff is BAD, I live in NE, and if you're the one who gets stuck with having to use that stuff, you have to be careful as fuck

[@DallasGunther]

"...........misty, watercolor memories.......... Of the way we were"

[@grapeshot]

The uncensored video of this disaster is quite horrific. You can see people running covered in fire from head to toe. There was a similar pipeline explosion like this in Nigeria some years ago.

[@JasonMcCord-qk3yb]

Yes, real ‘nightmare fuel’, that.

[@harlanmcdiarmid]

Ahhh hahahaha

[@Pablo668]

I think that may have happened in Nigeria on several occasions.

[@tadecker82]

I'm going to have to find that footage. It'll be nice to see some thieves get some sort of justice. I'm sick and tired of watching them get away with everything these days.

[@brianedwards7142]

Get help.@@tadecker82

[@deant876]

I understand that people were desperate. But holly hell, it was raining gasoline. No one thought there could be a fire?

[@the_expidition427]

No one wanted it everyone was making too much money

[@briansanchez9899]

They knew and didn't care, this kind of behaviour is common in Mexico, I think is because people have been oppressed and controlled by government, crime and every thing else that people prefer to risk their lives doing what they want rather than listening to authority

[@fr89k]

Not just a fire. Gasoline itself is unhealthy. It can cause skin rash, damage the lungs, and result in cancer. Also, if you get it into the eyes, the retina can be destroyed, leaving you blind... I've also handled gasoline in not recommended ways before, but we're talking about small quantities here. 1 or 2 liters. On huge quantities you can't even remotely think that you have everything under control and you should just stay the f away from it. It's dangerous af...

[@Mario12342010]

It's a really small town in a really low income state, people are generally not educated in basic safety matters.

[@CantHandleThisCanYa]

Not intelligent or educated enough to think of the consequences.

[@Tishers]

At one time I worked for a pipeline company and was the first on the scene at a major pipeline rupture. It released a half a million liters of gasoline in to a field in a matter of minutes. It was a sixteen inch diameter pipe that had the potential flow rate of almost a million liters per hour at a pressure of 80 Bar. I remained on-scene for about eighteen hours and was joined by almost fifty company representatives and more than a hundred clean-up contractors to dig out the damaged section of pipe. It was four meters underground and was hit in the side by a horizontal boring machine from a contractor who was putting in a different pipeline and thought that they were well beneath our line. It filled up their excavation pit (the size of an olympic swimming pool and flooded out in to the surrounding field. We managed to repair the line within twenty-four hours but it took us years to remediate the site as gasoline had entered the ground water (it was also a wetlands). There was nobody there to steal fuel; Sane people stay the frick away from a giant lake of gasoline. We (the employees and contractors) were there because we had to be. If it had ignited.... well, they wouldn't of found much left of us. To say that someone would be burned beyond recognition is an understatement. Some of those people would be burned to ashes and maybe only some bits of teeth would of remained.

[@Backyardmech1]

I work in environmental consulting, engineering, and remediation. As you stated MOST sane people try to GTF away from pipelines that are broken and releasing into the environment. That’s the difference between a third world country and one where people are educated enough to know when to haul ass. Here if a pipeline breaches the ground surface it’s all hands on who do I sue if it affects their property, and what’s the after effects. In a third world it’s “free gasoline, let’s bathe in it so I can get a gallon or more, regardless of what happens to me down the road.”

[@solandri69]

A gasoline tractor trailer you see filling up a gas station holds about 9000 gallons (about 34000 liters). The energy content of that amount of gasoline is about 2% of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. If you see a gasoline leak, stay the F away.

[@underarmbowlingincidentof1981]

would it be better for the environment to ignite it tho?

[@Badficwriter]

@@underarmbowlingincidentof1981 I'd be worried about a Centralia situation. Even in the Gulf War, the oil well fires went on for almost a year.

[@sideshow4417]

White people know not to play with a field of fuel

[@brianwelch1579]

My theory is that someone 'working hard' collecting petrol decided it was time for a ciggy and just sparked up. After a while you wouldn't smell the fumes anymore, and you'd be high as a kite by then and likely incapable of good judgement - although the existence of good judgement is questionable as they are playing in a gasoline fountain.

[@stellviahohenheim]

Literally the Zoolander meme

[@ThatOneGuyWithTheEye]

Thats literally exactly what happened.

[@Nobody-zl3kk]

Saying "static did it" has always felt like the cop out the authorities wanted to make it seem a bit less disrespectful to the families of the guys that died or unprofessional in the news... but yeah it 100% was just a dude who wanted a ciggy, there's no doubt in my mind.

[@therighttrousers343]

​@@Nobody-zl3kkmy thought is that the cigarette companies lobbying governments just don't like it when disasters and notable deaths can be attributed to cigarettes.

[@chaosdisciple3052]

​@@stellviahohenheim🎵wake me up before you go go

[@QueenSunstar]

Burnt human has a distinct odor. I first smelled it at 12 years old. My grandpa and I had just pulled into the street from the gas station when it went up in a fireball. My grandpa quickly parked, grabbed his black bag, and had me sit with a girl we both knew was not long for the world. I held her hand and watched her fade and die. That experience solidified my resolve to go into medicine. While I’m pretty sure she wasn’t aware of anything in her last moments, I like to think that if she was, she took comfort in me being with her at the end. Grandpa is the reason several of the victims survived that day. He was a surgeon. He never specialized in any field, nor did he shy away from any kind of surgery. He did everything but transplants. Yes, my grandpa is my hero.

[@RussellD11]

I used to work right next to a funeral home. We smelt burnt human almost daily as they where a big operation.. It was a cross of KFC and rotten potato lol

[@MissusAnon]

Wait so you were AT that gas station and leaving it when it went up in flames? That brush with death would have left me puckered.

[@QueenSunstar]

@@MissusAnon We were just down the street when it blew.

[@lofthouse23]

Awesome! Thanks for divulging

[@danstrayer111]

I recall watching the video of this fire when it happened. What amazed me was the cars they were driving....15,000-25,000 dollar cars, and they are drenched in gasoline trying to scoop up 5 or 10 dollars worth of free fuel, only to be burned alive. A Mexican man interviewed at the time said, "They just didn't know the danger". Really? Who on this planet does not know gasoline is highly flammable???

[@Shirospyre]

They likely knew of the danger in passive terms. Like if they were directly asked they'd say, "Yes, fuel is flammable. If that leak catches fire it would be bad." But they likely didn't even think of it because they were so focused on getting free fuel, and if they did, crowd mentality probably helped assuage any concerns. When you're surrounded by other people doing the same thing you are, it's easier to think that you're safe, cause if it was really dangerous these other people wouldn't be doing the same thing, surely.

[@evangelicalsnever-lie9792]

Their inbred rural village IQ really is lower, and it's time to admit it.

[@assaultlick2169]

Google the average iq for Mexico. It's low. Now keep in mind thse people are probably less than that average. It's quite possible these people are considered functional retarded

[@bobroberts2371]

More likely those 15,000 to 20,000 cars are stolen from the USA. They end up in other countries too, do a search for " Stolen Canadian Cars in Ghana CBC "

[@fastinradfordable]

He Who has never watched Zoolander

[@patrickstewart3446]

It’s not to hard to imagine what sparked the fire. Someone, out of habit, probably tried to light up a cigarette in the area. With 600+ people in the area, chances are that more than a few would be careless enough to light up while gas is flowing. It happens more often than you’d think and this just sounds like a gas station fire times 100.

[@mii481]

My first thought was cigarettes...And it wouldnt be the first time either.

[@Badficwriter]

@@mii481 I'm looking at Mexican commentary..they say there is video of someone smoking a cigarillo near the leak was. Some commenters say only dirt poor are this stupid, but there are First Worlders who've checked inside gas caps with their lighters. Stupid is our heritage as a species.

[@meze2095]

chances are if a 1000 people are smart enough to bath in gasoline for a long period of time one of them probably had the bright idea to smoke a cigarette

[@ludaMerlin69]

More likely someone drove a vehicle into the area to better steal the fuel. The fuel touches an exhaust pipe and boom.

[@jeffbybee5207]

Local tried killing himself by natural gas at home changed mind shut off gas opened windows set down and lit a cigarette he lived but home was totaled

[@sayohikawa3196]

Never expected to see the Huachicol Fest covered in this channel. Tragic as it was. This is one of the few cases where the consensus in the country was to feel no empathy for the thieves and the amount of memes that flooded social media was extremely high and is still reposted during the anniversary day each year.

[@marxan10]

Mira aaa, no era el único jejejejeje

[@JM_Tushe]

No lo pude haber dicho mejor. 👍

[@JTA1961]

Tinder & match. Bomb

[@Mario12342010]

Al chile hahaha, los Memes de la raza bien prendida

[@adrianusterraqueus309]

Los huachicoleros por eso dicen que son bien explosivos

[@recane999]

As mentioned in the video theft from Pemex pipelines is common. The company I work for provides pipeline leak detection systems; we've tried multiple times talking with Pemex about this issue. In the 1990's we did a pilot demonstration project on an old Pemex gasoline pipeline scheduled for decommissioning.... the pilot project was successful and plans were made between our company and Pemex to install the system across many gasoline and refined product pipelines across Mexico. Then suddenly one day, all work was stopped. A few months later we heard certain "high up" officials (either in Pemex or the government or both) had stopped this project because these officials were involved, either directly benefiting from the theft or from bribes. I was very disappointed, I really enjoyed working in Mexico.

[@abdosimon]

Interesting. So the tech is there but corruption prevents it.

[@paulrasmussen8953]

People say America is an empirw bit mexico woild have likely benefited if we acted like an empire and annex them

[@jpe1]

@@paulrasmussen8953the problem with annexation is, those Mexicans who would be against it. Annexation could never be accomplished by force, there are too many Mexicans. Better to offer Mexico a free choice to join the USA, which would require at a minimum a constitutional amendment for the US, and some kind of nationwide vote in Mexico. Given the current level of racism in America I doubt the first could happen, and given how shitty many Americans act towards Mexicans, I doubt they would want to join. But it would make sense, both countries would be much better off economically, border problems would dramatically decrease almost instantly, and drug cartel activity would be curbed substantially.

[@paulrasmussen8953]

@jpe1 the only raceism is from the deomcrstic party and again look at what mexico is now blows that theory out of the water.

[@danielaponte4054]

Pemex biggest sin is being an state owned company, it shoud have been privatized decades ago but the goverment is still in love with the Lazaro Cardenas dream of quasi-socialist policies

[@johnopalko5223]

As tragic as this is, all I can wonder is, "What did they _think_ was going to happen?"

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

Mexico has an average IQ of 87, which means half the population has an IQ lower than that. And a town like that wouldn't exactly be full of Doctors or Engineers too.

[@nnovatakaren5515]

Problably they tought they were getring a few months of gas for free

[@chrisb.2028]

Some where THAT desperate, some were THAT stupid and some wereTHAT greedy.

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

@@chrisb.2028 careful about using the term "greedy"... John from this channel only cares when _corporations_ are greedy, not the _underdog_ working class.

[@mavfin8720]

Thought was not something that was occurring here...

[@NinoJoel]

Seeing the video of the people standing right next to the volcano of gasoline trying to catch some makes my head hurt from all the stupidity

[@mikepj67]

Darwin Award Winners

[@a.r.h9919]

You had there parents carrying their children, covered head to toes on gasoline like water and people literally smoking

[@NinoJoel]

@@a.r.h9919 leave away the covered in gasoline thing but as someone that restores classic cars I can't even imagine how they can even stand there and breathe at those concentrations of gasoline fumes in the air.

[@a.r.h9919]

@@NinoJoel why you think many of them were sloppy and slumbering due to the fumes and thinking less clearly ? It was a time bomb and you'll be surprised the amount of ignorance there actually is towards the dangers of a leak and many people knew this and still went it for greed not necessity believe me most of this people were plundering

[@adambane1719]

...from all the stupidity already inside your head you mean !

[@dfpytwa]

When I was doing private military work in West Africa protecting a water well drilling crew for a charity operation we had a fireball go up a few miles east of us. Apparently a stalled semi full of groceries and a surprising amount of cigarettes got rear ended by a tanker truck full of gasoline. The tanker was leaking and a bunch of villagers descended on both to loot them. Fortunately casualties were low due to someone among the first looters on scene lighting a cigarette early in the heist before the rest of the village had time to get there.

[@BedsitBob]

There was a similar incident in (I believe) India, were people were collecting petrol from a leaking pipeline. As night fell, someone lit a candle, so they could see what they were doing. I think you can guess what happened next.

[@JTA1961]

I gas so...

[@Sniperboy5551]

Whoever lit that candle earned a Darwin award

[@CantHandleThisCanYa]

Well that's one way to depopulate the overpopulated....

[@mzflighter6905]

That is just ridoculous

[@BedsitBob]

@@Sniperboy5551 But he took others with him. I don't think you're supposed to take dozens of others with you.

[@DrWickedSH]

I want to mention that only a couple of years before this was when "el gasolinazo" happened, which was a massive mark up on gasoline basically doubling the price in as little as 18 months. The price never really went down, and that's why huachicol (stolen gasoline) really started being big business. So essentially this was a direct consequence of that, and of course the government was a big part of it with its monopoly on fuel in all of the country. Also, I smiled at the pronunciation attempts of the Mexican city names and 'huachicoleros', but I really burst out laughing whe you said "mexican dollars" lmao.

[@Badficwriter]

Blame the govt, but this was very profitable for organized criminals. This town's tapping habit was robbing their fellow citizens.

[@chrisstott3508]

Under what circumstances *do* you think criminals are responsible for their crimes?

[@DrWickedSH]

@@chrisstott3508 Do me a favor and quote me verbatim on where I said they were not responsible. After you can't, sit down and consider your biases and prejudices.

[@chrisstott3508]

@@DrWickedSH You sought to reduce the culpability of the criminals by attributing causation to the government: "essentially this was a direct consequence of" "a massive mark up on gasoline basically doubling the price" "of course the government was a big part of it" Why didn't you answer my question? Under what circumstances do you think criminals are responsible for their crimes?

[@engineer_alv]

Since when did 30% become double the price? Gasoline's price hiked around 20%-30% after the gasolinazo.

[@Mario12342010]

John, as a Mexican viewer I really appreciate you trying to pronounce the local names.

[@chrisb.2028]

The struggle was real but the effort is very appreciated.

[@r3beatty]

For a guy with a funny accent, he did really well! :-)

[@markh.6687]

Gasoline bubbling up like a big fountain; what could possibly go wrong??

[@boozypixels]

It was nice of the government to pack up the fuel into conveniently-stealable trucks instead of making the thieves extract it from a pressurized pipeline

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Very thoughtful of them! I'm sure the cartels were thrilled.

[@thejudgmentalcat]

What I was thinking...got a visual of Capone's gang hijacking booze trucks during Prohibition 😂

[@Maverickzeros]

I mean it's probably better for them to steal a truck then have them try and get into a pipeline

[@Inferryu]

better a truck worth some hundred thousands than a pipeline worth millions, is not like the where sealing the pipes when they where done either, so it's safer too for the surroundings.

[@ZGryphon]

Something similar happened in Guadalajara in the '90s, although as I recall, in that case it wasn't caused by fuel thieves, but rather a carelessly built pipeline that ended up more or less filling the sewers downtown with gasoline. The usual Pemex incompetence, either way. There was a _Seconds From Disaster_ episode about it, I think.

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Yup, a badly installed Pemex pipeline ended up leaking gasoline into Guadalajara's water supply. After people had been complaining about it for days with little response, it finally blew up a decent chunk of the city. The Seconds From Disaster episode was rather memorable.

[@Dat-Mudkip]

I've heard of shitty gas but this is ridiculous! (I'm sorry.)

[@wisp666]

You could not make this stuff up. Watching people standing in a gasoline fountain with buckets just beggars belief. As above, remember the original video, which was grim.

[@koffeekage]

i have a very hard time feeling bad for people who stayed in a dangerous area to steal fuel for multiple hours. Did no one have the sense to think "wow extreme danger". this is different from someone trying to nap on their ride home on a Ferry or a Light Rail.

[@adambane1719]

Wtf?? You don't realise that the gas companies ARE the thieves ??

[@bsanaee]

I feel bad for people who are so desperate that standing around getting soaked in gasoline seems worth it to get a milk jug full of the stuff. That would seem a poor tradeoff to me even if it was guaranteed there wouldn't be a fire, but were I in very different circumstances who knows.

[@nebulaeclipse8901]

A lot of disasters you cover I don't know much about going in, but this one I saw unfold on live TV. I remember seeing the footage before the blast thinking "there is going to be a single moment where this vaporised petrol becomes a bomb" and then, the still live coverage an hour later was just horrible.

[@enigma1915]

I was in mexico when this happened, everyone was having fun at night, almost like a festival. Then there was an explosion, then there were sparks of light moving through the fields. People covered in gasoline and flames screaming, children and dogs included. It was one of the worst tragedies I witnessed in Mexico, second to the earthquakes of 2017 and 2019

[@VladimirDemetrovIlyushin]

Tragedy? The earthquakes were a tragedy. Huachicoleros just played chicken with death and lost. Boohoo.

[@enigma1915]

@@VladimirDemetrovIlyushin you right but still, seeing dead children kinda sucked

[@VladimirDemetrovIlyushin]

@@enigma1915 That's also a tragedy. Poor kids had no chance because of their dumb parents.

[@Robwantsacurry]

I was just about to post this, a big boom and lots of little lights crossing the fields, looked pretty until it clicked what those lights where.

[@thedeviouspanda]

Aww poor doggies ☹

[@carriethomas3776]

I love your videos and have just become a member. I would love to see you do a video on the 1975 fire at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Alabama. It all started with a candle, believe it or not. Thankfully, a disaster was avoided, but only narrowly so.....Thank you for your hard work producing top notch content!!!!

[@faithfulfairy1]

I love your videos and the style: informative and entertaining without being unnecessarily grisly or dramatic, while also being respectful. That said, the opening music scares the crap out of me.

[@kenneth804]

I feel I would pass out standing next to the gas volcano just from the fumes...

[@tylerdurden4006]

Those black circles look crazy bcoz that's where runners fell...

[@JasonMcCord-qk3yb]

I was looking at those too, and thinking the same thing!

[@spicynoodle1513]

One meme I remember "Life make me Huachicolero, but Pemex transformed me in to Ghost Rider"

[@RaRa-el3iz]

Thanks!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!!

[@aliciaaranda9482]

Here in my country Paraguay 🇵🇾, there was also a big fire with 400 unrecognizable deaths. It was a terrible tragedy

[@thequestionwhy3827]

I really appreciate how you cover these disasters in a way that feels more journalistic than exploitive.

[@rulo7475]

As Mexican I have to say that this disaster is embarrassing, it exposed the very worst of us, petty thieves combined with stupidity, plus the absurd populist response of the current administration, indemnifying “victims” and exempting them from any wrongdoing. This paternalistic attitude from the government together with our meek and complacent attitude has crippled Mexico.

[@Cisco13]

You missed the part about organized crime, what does you being a "mexican" have anything to do with it?

[@axrockatansky1791]

​@@Cisco13I don't know. Probably the fact that this person lives in the country and saw it because being broadcast nonstop after it happened

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

@@Cisco13 You obviously don't know a thing about Mexico.

[@riocox6445]

​@@thing_under_the_stairsHe tried to virtue signal and it fell flat 😅.

[@Cbd_7ohm]

​@@thing_under_the_stairsThe cartel runs it and it's a shithole full of short racists. Some good recipes though.

[@hugolafhugolaf]

LOL at the people trying to scoop up some fuel with a coffee cup at 5:10 or so. Yeah, that’s gonna impact your budget.

[@TheTrueBallin]

This wasn’t about necessity it was about greed they were warned several times in 2019 which is when it peaked. Many times the Mexican marines would confront these people and the “innocent” people would have violent confrontations. This incident really brought to light how much was out there and many places were raided after this. I am sorry 😞 but it had to happen for it to stop.

[@a.r.h9919]

Ask most Mexicans and they will tell you the same: this people more often than not knew what they were up against and the risks and still went to steal gas bringing even their children, literally showering themselves in gas and I kid you not smoking, many of them did not do this for necessity, even the reasons why there was the need to have the revision of the gasoline at a national level was due to the fact that there was an staggering amount of corruption and bad gasoline being used in the country literally around 70 to 80% of pemex was selling poor quality gasoline, borderline huachicol and it did more damage to the cars and environment than anything

[@adambane1719]

You don't realise that the gas companies ARE the thieves ??

[@60sSam]

There is no such thing as a "small leak" when it comes to natural gas or petrol. Thank you again for your work.

[@daszieher]

This is a very nice one. It shows how a huge number of people with little to no knowledge will ignore danger for greed. These cases have to happen from time to time, so that at least some get to learn something.

[@OaklandMind]

greed is the company who's mantra is "more than enough, and then more please". desperation is the petty thief's who's mantra is "whatever I can get to get a little bit". CAPITALISM (to the extent that we live under it) creates hoarders at the top of a pyramid, and crumb-catchers at the bottom. There is literally no comparison to the context and position of the people. But the behavior is clearly visible and demonized in the poor. That makes no good sense. A crumb catcher could exert as much energy as humanly possible for their whole life, and they still wouldn't end up with that which a hoarder will have amassed in a fraction of the time. One wants an unending supply. The other wants some of the sum, whatever they can gather. It is so extremely shocking how unable people are to see behavior for what it is, given the context that creates the differentiation itself.

[@Toastcat890]

It's Mexico a lot of people don't have the opportunities we have in the US or others have in the UK survival will make you do a lot of things also it doesn't help that their belief system has them having children they can't afford and have no business having in the first place.

[@GrandDadGaming]

Greetings from Mexico. It was said that the one that sparked all that gas was an outstanding individual who lighted his smokes.

[@aprilmorris4588]

John, you for amazing pronouncing all of those Mexican names and places. I'm from the West Coast of the US, and have been learning Spanish as I go. Great job also on this doc. I always enjoy your short documentaries because you make them so easy to picture in my mind.

[@markr.devereux3385]

This truly was a difficult one to assess. Several players need to examine their conscience and acknowledge their part in the horrific loss of life. This was sickening incompetance.

[@euanjack6390]

Love a weekend with a new video from our main man John! ❤️

[@bensullivan9478]

❤I appreciate ur work ya pommy bugga! much love from NZ

[@GummyBearWA]

All things considered, running towards a giant gasoline fountain is, at best, a terrible decision.

[@gertjanbus]

I like that you make note of the weather, it gives me almost 100% certain forecast for tomorrow, a little north of Amsterdam

[@paul9156c]

Another scene right out of the prophetic movie Idiocracy.

[@Screamblade_]

Legendary series of documentaries as always - thank you

[@ply61]

Yeah, I still remember that. The hundred of people on the leak was told to leave but non of them did so, the explosion was horrible, there's a raw video from the instant when it went off. Also, some stuff -The Huachicoleros name came because they began to sell altered/stolen gasoline as "Huachicol" (sounds like Wua-Chi-Col), they even sell it on big cities like Mexico City and surrounding suburbs. -When AMLO president came to power, the fuel issue became really hard in all country, I remember that even public transport in Mexico CIty began to be a bit hard to find, as trucks and cabs didnt have enough money to buy fuel, now in outer parts of the metro area the transport became a really hard issue. -Hidalgo State has become something like "Ground Zero" for petrol/gas theives, you can pretty much drive on any of the Hwy's and you'll find little shacks that sell you that fuel for like $10MXN instead of the $20+MXN per litre. -The town Is Tlahuelilpan (Tla-jue-lil-pan) and It's said that more or less half of the population died on the explosion and even the local graveyard was filled up and bodies had to be burried in other nearby towns. -I remember there was some people that was also mad about the people didn't getting charges, because the leak/explosion was thrown under the rug as there's no crime to pursuit everything ended on Pemex saying "Oh yeah, sorry, but that's how thing's are". -Mexican currency is called "Peso", saying Mexican Dollars made my wallet gasp in expectation haha

[@rogerp6903]

Thanks for another interesting episode,truly tragic. Love the outro sonics

[@MattiasKSe]

"Oooh a gigantic stream of petrol is shooting out the pipe, lets have some." Yeah well worth to die over some free petrol... Even if I was that poor, I would never be stupid enough to get that close to a shitshow like that. What did they expect?

[@devonselera8345]

Always nice to see you cover a story from my country. Another great video as always

[@MMSMLUNWINPP]

Thank you for this! I absolutely needed a distraction today. I live I'm Maine, more specifically my town is next to Lewiston, so it's been a rough few days. Thanks for all you do brother, you are the man PD!

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

Wow, sorry about what's going on in your area, and your country. I'm Canadian and don't watch much news, so I had no idea until I looked it up just now. Good luck to you and yours, my man.

[@BigGhilz]

"Mexican Dollars", ah yes, that famous currency.

[@LenKusov]

My area in Appalachia doesn't have much in the way of oil REFINING but it DOES have a lot of oil and gas extraction. During the 2008-2012 recession and associated gas crisis we had quite a few pipeline explosions lighting up the sky as people were trying to tap the "drip gas" (basically like camp fuel, straight naphtha with a pretty low octane rating) from the condensate tanks at pumping stations in the countryside, most of which are unmanned, unsecured, and in minor disrepair, to mix 50/50 with leaded off-road race gas to make something cheap and untaxed that'd run in a straightpiped car. There's also been quite a few instances of the local last-mile oil companies catching people in the act of tapping the collection tanks at well sites, either for the same sort of drip gas, or for straight crude oil to run through coffee filters for use in diesel engines and oil furnaces, but those usually don't cause any issues except lost revenue. I also heard of QUITE a few people who had abandoned but uncapped wells on their land, or in the National Forest, illegally reactivating them either solely for home-use gas (not uncommon to buy the gas rights from the oil company, you just tap the gas port and install a separator, but it can also be done with dormant wells) or sometimes going as far as to build their own derricks and bootlegging the crude as a cheap alternative to diesel/heating oil.

[@ShortArmOfGod]

Whiskey tangos gonna whiskey tango.

[@kimhohlmayer7018]

So happy to see your new disaster! Wait! That didn’t come out right. Crap! Home sick so I’m not my usually functional self. I’m glad to find your newest video just when I need to take my mind off feeling bad.

[@Odin31b]

I think the weather report in London in every video is code for something..

[@CantHandleThisCanYa]

How it's going with the wife that particular day. That's the secret message.

[@IIGrayfoxII]

4:00 remember those fuel shortages. Idiots started following cooking oil trucks thinking it was petrol/diesel

[@Masterblack1991]

I don't understand why they got compensation. I mean they where criminally charged for stealing petrol, don't collaborated with soldiers,still compensation? It's mind-blowing

[@cesarincamendozaloyola4407]

AMLO's silly populist approach

[@samarnadra]

One thing often said in Arizona about why we need to make sure undocumented immigrants don't die in the desert when crossing it illegally is: "Crossing the border illegally may be a crime, but it isn't a capital crime" occasionally with an addition like "and even if it were, that's cruel and unusual punishment." Stealing petrol is a crime, but it isn't punishable by death, and certainly not death by being burned alive in an explosion. They were compensated because they got a 911 call and didn't turn off the flow, which would be _negligence_ on the part of those operating the pipeline. Also, potentially failure to maintain it properly, but it's Mexico, I don't know how much pipeline maintenance standards are regulated there, and enforcing them is going to be impossible in many areas.

[@mushyroom9569]

@@samarnadraAs a wise man once said “I won’t kill you, but I don’t have to save you.”

[@theOwnuts]

@@samarnadra finally someone with a brain and empathy in the comments, whats wrong with everyone saying they think those people deserved it for stealing some fking fuel and being stupid.

[@VladimirDemetrovIlyushin]

@@theOwnuts What? Why? I can empathize with victims of violence, but standing with your mouth open on an open gasoline pipeline while STEALING doesn't mean people HAVE to feel sorry for you as you inevitably burn to death.

[@TombVali]

watching all those people grabbing gas getting drenched,,, terrifying

[@JesseMcCall]

That graph really cleared things up for me. 😂

[@danpavelko8414]

I'm amazed that I hadn't heard anything about this earlier. Thanks for the video.

[@WRXAshlee]

It was a popular topic on twitter years back. It had a graphic warning too since the videos that came out were insane

[@k9killer221]

Suitably atomised petrol vapours don't even need a spark. The friction between the molecules alone can make it explode. It's not a case of if, it's a case of when.

[@TheMouseAvenger]

Speaking of Mexican oil/gas fire dusasters, I'd LOVE it if you could do a video about the San Juanico tragedy of 1984! ^_^

[@matty99]

Thieves is the plural of Thief.

[@Galfrid]

Not for a cockney 🤣

[@CantHandleThisCanYa]

@@Galfridyou mean "idiot"

[@agentepolaris4914]

In Mexico this event is regarded as one of those "fuck around, find out" kind of stories rather than a tragedy. No matter how hard you try to dig for someone to feel empathy for, there is nobody! from the thieves that caused this mess out of greed/ignorance/stupidity, to their relatives that tried to take the case to court in order to get some dough. Maybe just the poor soldiers that chickened out.

[@johngy6296]

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen gas station attendants in smaller Mexican towns, pumping gas while smoking cigarettes, I’m actually surprised it took so long before it all went up.

[@adambane1719]

This wasn't at a gas station mate

[@MoteofVolition]

Could say that the thieves hopes became a pipe dream.

[@JasonMcCord-qk3yb]

Awww! That jokes punchline just went down the tubes! Lol

[@thing_under_the_stairs]

I was trying to think of a clever pun, but I ran out of gas.

[@itsdokko2990]

nothing like a bunch of light-hearted puns to light up the afternoon

[@JM_Tushe]

What can I say? FAFO? What I dislike the most isn't that this happened, it's that the families of the deceased asked money to the government because THIS HAPPENED. 😑

[@Badficwriter]

One father whose kids died said everybody knew it was dangerous but they (the ones involved) were young and fearless..

[@JuneSivell]

Hi John, have you done a video about the San Bernadino disaster? Again involving a pipe line but also a train. Knowing how you produce your videos it would be a very interesting one to watch.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you for the suggestion I’ll have a dig!

[@arsenalxa4421]

I think I know where in Texas some of the victims were sent. Parkland, here in Dallas, has an excellent burn unit. When that grain shed blew up in West, Texas a lot of the victims were airlifted to Parkland for treatment.

[@timhinchcliffe5372]

I bet they are still waiting for Mexico to pay the bill too... how many hospitals close to the Mexican border have gone bankrupt now?

[@scarymsmary]

Howdy, neighbor! Dallas love for Plainly Difficult!

[@thechief2020]

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE JOHN

[@Neoentrophy]

Hell of a video to see, yet I still struggle to wrap my head around how insanely dangerous this situation clearly was yet so many were willing to risk it all for free petrol. Either desperation or stupid greed, but damn it would take some serious convincing to get me anywhere near this, even as a bystander.

[@MiceAndMinecraft]

This is common in many countries, my dad worked for Shell, and in Turkey oil pipeline theft took place most often after the harvests had been gathered in, locals would break the line to steal oil for heating over winter, then claim compensation for the spill on their land after. Sometimes reporting the spill before it had even happened then telling local oil industry staff not to come to fix it until a set date. In Nigeria it was worse, a colleague of dad’s used to be one of a team of full-time hostage negotiators for Shell there. Local gangs soon found the most profitable method was to steal the oil, claim compensation but ALSO to take the repair crew hostage and ransom them when they came to fix the damage. It happened so often it was scary, and why dad always refused a posting to Nigeria, it was too dangerous.

[@ConstantlyDamaged]

Your impartiality, and compassion, showed through well on this one. Nice work.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@FortuneZer0]

It really is commendable. In my eyes they fucked around a whole lot and found out. Just like at Lagos. A pipeline is infrastructure and should be public property.

[@aircraftcarrierwo-class]

"My lord, the peasantry are getting gasoline!" "Well, I certainly am pleased to hear about that." "But my lord... They aren't paying for it!" "MEN WITH GUNS. RIGHT NOW."

[@杠精-e3h]

They deserved no payout. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Pretty much everyone knows how flammable gasoline is.

[@Ryarios]

Gives a whole new meaning to getting caught red handed…

[@stirgy4312]

John, you rock. Please do the 1985 MOVE incident in Philadelphia USA, where the police bombed a row of houses and burnt down the entire block. Many deaths. Cheers!

[@ronbennett7885]

Would be informative, since most have never heard of it. However, he would need to research it in-depth. There are many nuances that led to the incident and how it was handled. Dropping an explosive device wasn't ideal and the authorities definitely knew the dangers, but the situation had been escalating for years. From what I recall, far back as 1977 or so. As for letting the fire burn. Initially, for firefighter safety, but some claim authorities stalled until there was near zero chance of anyone still in there surviving. It was surreal to watch on TV.

[@binbashbuddy]

Why did they pay the "vicitms" families? They were risking their lives in an incredibly dangerous situation to steal a petty amount of gasoline, what are they gonna leave with, 5 or 10 gallons?

[@Galfrid]

More like a liter or two! 🤦Rewarding the criminals, desperate though the were, should not be policy, but it "looks good" for the government

[@samarnadra]

Because not turning off the pipeline after the 911 call was negligent? And people do stupid stuff when desperate or when caught up in a group doing something.

[@mushyroom9569]

⁠@@samarnadraThat money should have gone to the families of the law-abiding Mexicans.

[@binbashbuddy]

​@@samarnadra-- I absolutely think the company is remiss on that count and should pay reparations to the people trying to stop this theft, but why is the government giving them money?

[@detleffleischer9418]

​@@samarnadraThose are central pipelines vital to supplying most of the South, it's impossible to just instantly stop the flow simply because the mechanisms are very slow, it's not a water hose.

[@cadillacdeville5828]

You do a fantastic job on your videos 📸❤

[@richdiscoveries]

Who in the hell would run towards a gasoline leak?? I have seen a couple of accidental spills over the years in different shops, but what's that three maybe four gallons. Even that makes me nervous, but it needs to be handled quickly. Forget a freaking pressurized pipeline🤯

[@Choralone422]

It's sad that preventable disaster happened. At times some people do some incredibly dumb things when it comes to gasoline or other consumable items when there's a supply shortage. For most of 2021 and well into 2022 there was a Sam's Club gas station in the city I live in that with a membership sold gas for about 5 cents less per gallon than other gas stations within a couple mile radius. Loads of people would wait in line for 30-60+ minutes at a time just to save that small amount. The daily congestion got so bad that the city started requiring off duty police officers be hired to direct traffic and be available to quickly report vehicle accidents as the line would often spill out onto a nearby busy 4 lane road. The gas station started matching the prices of other nearby stations instead of continuing to pay for the off duty officers and the situation disappeared practically overnight. I could only imagine the insanity that would unfold if there was a way for people even here in the Midwest US to get gallons of gas for free, even with the inherit danger of a massive explosion and fire.

[@Gidi66]

Reminds me of a case in South Africa a few years back when some guys tried cutting open the transnet port service diesel pipeline at the harbour, untill the diesel got too hot from all the cutting/sparks ignited and the part of the pipeline they where cutting went boom.

[@slome815]

Really? I would think diesel is a lot safer to steal from a pipeline then gasoline, when you see how much harder it is to ignite. Seriously, you can throw sigarettes in a pot full of diesel, try to light it with a lighter, etc, and it won't ignite.

[@CaptainTenneal]

A whole bunch of Darwin Award winners here.

[@chrissimmons4514]

Free gas!!!

[@MrOddlyFox]

Silent ad, oddly enjoyable and not irritating.

[@demm5]

I was scrolling youtube for content from my favorite youtubers to eat food to and here you are, spot on

[@KarrierBag]

Thank you for this one, I didn't know much about it and now I do.

[@andidevlin3361]

Was about to say how stupid have you got to be to go stand in a field soaked with a Fuel fountain. But they must have been so bloody poor to do this knowing that just one small spark could bow and burn them in seconds , that they just didnt care

[@colincampbell767]

This isn't poverty - it's the third world culture. People simply see nothing wrong with theft of this sort.

[@ronbennett7885]

@@colincampbell767 Yep, and one sees it in action throughout various parts of the U.S.

[@psyxypher3881]

Just because someone's poor doesn't make them stupid or more likely to engage in criminal behavior.

[@andidevlin3361]

@@colincampbell767 was not mentioning the theft of fuel, was saying the point of putting yourself in danger like that.

[@andidevlin3361]

@@psyxypher3881 did not call them stupid, read what i said again please. was not mentioning the theft of fuel either, was saying the point of putting yourself in danger like that.

[@BuddyLee23]

The videos that came out of this disaster are WatchPeopleDie classics at this point.

[@300guy]

Sometime would like to see what a really wet part of London looks like, not your house, but a nearby street with shops.

[@MFCSTUDIOS]

.... London is a big place, could easily show us what very wet & windy is without revealing personal details

[@Frank_Nemo]

Google Street View is your friend. Just look at any London street on there and then just imagine that street was wet.

[@Sokko325]

"Just look a this dramatic footage." When showing a photo of the charred trench, instead of the previously shown footage of the blazing inferno.

[@swapsplat]

Well well well, if it isn't the consequences of my actions... Hey, let's go and fuck around in that big gasoline cloud... This is literally Darwin at work.

[@JoaoPessoa86]

For future reference: it's just pesos or Mexican pesos

[@yipeerika]

Hearing you try to pronounce Huachicoleros made my day ngl

[@JTA1961]

Decision to NOT shut that shit DOWN... Should have been held accountable

[@M167A1]

Nonsense, think of it as evolution in action.

[@SirDankington]

Accountable for what, not making it easier for thieves to steal?

[@themonopolyguy4365]

I was working on a well pad about a mile from the sissonville wv pipeline explosion. The flames and heat were insane.

[@Serenity_Dee]

"Tla hue lee pan" "High-dalgo" you really Britished those up! 😁 More seriously, this is good stuff, please keep it going! Just bear in mind that those of us on this side of the pond might cringe a little at your pronunciation of Mexican names 😘

[@JosieJOK]

Tlahuelilpan is a bit of a tongue-twister, ya gotta admit!😆

[@CarlSmith-p2c]

I believe it was John Oliver who joked about this anglicization of foreign words being heavily ingrained British behavior due to their history of colonization of many countries. Gordon Ramsey's pronunciation of the word "fillet" still hurts my ears. And he spent time in France learning to cook.

[@Serenity_Dee]

@@CarlSmith-p2c there are so many British pronunciations of French and Spanish loan words that are just grating to me. And don't get me started on how badly "wagyu" gets mangled.

[@tookitogo]

@@Serenity_Deelike “tack-ohs” for the famous Mexican food? (It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me, too…)

[@Serenity_Dee]

@@JosieJOK Yeah, I wasn't expecting him to land that one, and I was pleasantly surprised that he mostly managed the initial "tl" sound pretty consistently. I know how it works because I'm a language nerd who has delusions of someday learning Nahuatl, and I can't always get it right.

[@donkeyboy585]

Never heard of that one. thanks John

[@adambane1719]

Oh, you've already heard of everything else, have you ? Arent you great.

[@donkeyboy585]

@@adambane1719 What kind of troll shit is that? Lol

[@rhr-p7w]

It's wasn't desperation, stolen gasoline is a huge business here. The most dangerous thing about that people is not their ignorance about how gasoline works, is the fact that they can reproduce and vote.

[@adambane1719]

Wtf?? You don't realise that the gas companies ARE the thieves ??