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I'm pretty sure the story here is how 137 people died in a gas explosion in Mexico (plus probably hundreds injured for life), including some backstory as to why

I'm pretty sure the story here is how 137 people died in a gas explosion in Mexico (plus probably hundreds injured for life), including some backstory as to why that explosion happened. > The Mendoza sisters, however, say seeking out a guilty party is a low priority for them, at least for now. They’re trying to survive the consequences of the fire and get used to the idea of being alone in Hidalgo.

jjeaff 7y ago
Fortunately, that is the story. But the headline makes it sound like the accident in particular was due to a heist. This implying an organized effort to steal gas. But as the precious poster mentioned, this was a broken line that locals just started showing up to in order to take advantage of the free money.
- Causality1 7y ago
  It wasn't a broken line, it was a botched tap job. I don't see a lot of moral difference between an organized heist and an impromptu opportunistic criminal mob, except that the former has the decency to not get children involved.
  - mcguire 7y ago
    "The scene in the green alfalfa field abutting the pipeline appeared to be a free-for-all, roughly 80 villagers swarming a leak inside a 100-foot-long, 5-foot-deep irrigation trench that bisected the field. There seemed to be no organization, no tap, no hose—only two holes in the pipe, which made the fuel spurt as if from a wonky fountain. It seemed possible a local huachicol gang had screwed up the extraction, but the holes had none of the typical hallmarks." There's no description or picture of the pipe, other than that and the photo captioned, "Survivors have erected a memorial at the site of the fire." Similar pipes get punctured by farm equipment fairly routinely; there's no reason to believe this was a criminal tap rather than an accident that the local people tried to take advantage of. What I suspect Bloomberg wants is an article about the evils of gasoline thieves and they're sticking the human interest story to that to get attention.
    - Causality1 7y ago
      The article seemed very sympathetic to the people killed and injured to me, giving multiple accounts from their perspective and that of their families, etc. But this is the equivalent, at best, of a crowd descending on a crashed Brinks truck to snatch up spilled cash and then having the armored car's fuel tank explode on them. They subjected themselves to extraordinary danger to take what didn't belong to them and paid the price for it. I'd consider the moral ledger to be balanced.
      - GhostVII 7y ago
        Except the gas that was spilling out of the pipe was never going to be recovered and used for anything else - nothing of value was being stolen. For people in extreme poverty, the money they gain from gas could significantly affect their lives, I don't blame them for trying to take it.
        Causality1 7y ago
        Oh I don't blame them for trying either. I do blame them for bringing children and getting them killed.
mcguire 7y ago
"A typical huachicoleo involves two or three people soldering and tapping the pipe and a group of halcones, or hawks, keeping watch. The solderer and his teammates use high-power drills to perforate the pipes, then affix taps and sometimes a hose to retrieve as much fuel as their portable tank can carry, generally into the hundreds or thousands of gallons. [...] Generally, these extractions, or tomas clandestinas, are coordinated operations run by gangs in the dead of night." That doesn't sound like it has anything to do with the incident where 137 people died. "Huachicoleo is becoming one of Mexico’s most pressing economic issues. In 2018 thieves made off with about $3 billion in gas from 12,500 siphonings, almost double the number of thefts of two years earlier. The motive comes down to math. “Most people here earn around 1,500 pesos [$78] a week in a normal job, but by doing this you can get your hands on 2,000 pesos a night for being a hawk and up to 15,000 pesos for being the one who solders the tap,” the Hidalgo huachicolero says. “In an area where people were not long ago riding donkeys, they now have fancy cars.” He and other gang members say a night’s worth of stolen fuel, sold on the black market, can net their bosses roughly $46,000 in profit." Which means all that has nothing to do with the story, right?

jjeaff 7y ago

Fortunately, that is the story. But the headline makes it sound like the accident in particular was due to a heist. This implying an organized effort to steal gas. But as the precious poster mentioned, this was a broken line that locals just started showing up to in order to take advantage of the free money.

Causality1 7y ago
It wasn't a broken line, it was a botched tap job. I don't see a lot of moral difference between an organized heist and an impromptu opportunistic criminal mob, except that the former has the decency to not get children involved.
- mcguire 7y ago
  "The scene in the green alfalfa field abutting the pipeline appeared to be a free-for-all, roughly 80 villagers swarming a leak inside a 100-foot-long, 5-foot-deep irrigation trench that bisected the field. There seemed to be no organization, no tap, no hose—only two holes in the pipe, which made the fuel spurt as if from a wonky fountain. It seemed possible a local huachicol gang had screwed up the extraction, but the holes had none of the typical hallmarks." There's no description or picture of the pipe, other than that and the photo captioned, "Survivors have erected a memorial at the site of the fire." Similar pipes get punctured by farm equipment fairly routinely; there's no reason to believe this was a criminal tap rather than an accident that the local people tried to take advantage of. What I suspect Bloomberg wants is an article about the evils of gasoline thieves and they're sticking the human interest story to that to get attention.
  - Causality1 7y ago
    The article seemed very sympathetic to the people killed and injured to me, giving multiple accounts from their perspective and that of their families, etc. But this is the equivalent, at best, of a crowd descending on a crashed Brinks truck to snatch up spilled cash and then having the armored car's fuel tank explode on them. They subjected themselves to extraordinary danger to take what didn't belong to them and paid the price for it. I'd consider the moral ledger to be balanced.
    - GhostVII 7y ago
      Except the gas that was spilling out of the pipe was never going to be recovered and used for anything else - nothing of value was being stolen. For people in extreme poverty, the money they gain from gas could significantly affect their lives, I don't blame them for trying to take it.
      - Causality1 7y ago
        Oh I don't blame them for trying either. I do blame them for bringing children and getting them killed.

mcguire 7y ago

"A typical huachicoleo involves two or three people soldering and tapping the pipe and a group of halcones, or hawks, keeping watch. The solderer and his teammates use high-power drills to perforate the pipes, then affix taps and sometimes a hose to retrieve as much fuel as their portable tank can carry, generally into the hundreds or thousands of gallons. [...] Generally, these extractions, or tomas clandestinas, are coordinated operations run by gangs in the dead of night." That doesn't sound like it has anything to do with the incident where 137 people died. "Huachicoleo is becoming one of Mexico’s most pressing economic issues. In 2018 thieves made off with about $3 billion in gas from 12,500 siphonings, almost double the number of thefts of two years earlier. The motive comes down to math. “Most people here earn around 1,500 pesos [$78] a week in a normal job, but by doing this you can get your hands on 2,000 pesos a night for being a hawk and up to 15,000 pesos for being the one who solders the tap,” the Hidalgo huachicolero says. “In an area where people were not long ago riding donkeys, they now have fancy cars.” He and other gang members say a night’s worth of stolen fuel, sold on the black market, can net their bosses roughly $46,000 in profit." Which means all that has nothing to do with the story, right?