Relatives of missing workers gather outside the Pajaritos petrochemical complex in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Thursday, April, 21, 2016. At least 13 people are now confirmed dead and scores of others were injured in the Wednesday afternoon explosion inside the plant. The state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said the plant, operated by Mexichem, in partnership with Pemex, produces vinyl chloride, a hazardous industrial chemical. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
The Associated Press
COATZACOALCOS, Mexico (AP) - The death toll from a petrochemical plant explosion in southeastern Mexico has risen to 24, state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos reported late Thursday.
Pemex raised the toll from the 13 fatalities previously known and also said 19 people remained hospitalized, with 13 of them in serious condition.
Earlier in the day, desperate relatives gathered outside the plant in the industrial port city of Coatzacoalcos, on Mexico's southern Gulf coast, hoping for news about loved ones still unaccounted for. At the time, officials said 18 workers had been reported missing.
About 30 families massed at a plant entrance road, where a sharp chemical smell still hung in the air about 2 kilometers (a mile) from where the explosion occurred Wednesday afternoon. Many wore facemasks to ward off the pungent odor.
Shoving broke out as people unsuccessfully tried to force their way into the installation. Some shouted at marines and soldiers who were called in to guard the facility, and they threw rocks at a white government SUV when it arrived at the scene.
Rosa Villalobos traveled about four hours by bus from the city of Veracruz to scour Coatzacoalcos hospitals looking for her son, Luis Alfonso Ruiz Villalobos, a 25-year-old worker at the plant. When she couldn't find him she showed up at the plant entrance.
"What I want is for justice to be done in my son's case, for there to be no impunity," Villalobos said. "I'm going to stay here. Even though I have no money, even though I have nothing to eat, I'm staying put."
Some volunteers brought food and drink to the families. After a while authorities began taking people inside in small groups to see a list of those confirmed dead. Some left crying after seeing their loved ones' names.
Pemex said Thursday night that it was prioritizing the safety of those inspecting the plant, and they were still gradually gaining access to more parts of the site.
The blast in this industrial port city forced evacuations of nearby areas as it sent a toxin-filled cloud billowing into the air and injuring more than 100 workers.
Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya, Pemex's director, told Radio Formula that the explosion was caused by a leak of as-yet unknown origin.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto also toured the facility Thursday.
Antonio Mariche, who accompanied the Villalobos family in search of Luis Alfonso, vowed that the families would demand a full account of what happened.
"To the president, to the state governor, to the head of Pemex, we will not allow any more cover-ups like have happened with previous accidents," Mariche said. "They have covered up the numbers (in the past); there have been people who disappeared and regrettably never appeared. ... We will go to the last consequences to make sure this doesn't keep happening."
Pemex said it and another company, Mexichem, operated the Clorados 3 plant of Petroquimica Mexicana de Vinilo, which produces the hazardous industrial chemical vinyl chloride.
In early February, a fire killed a worker at the same facility.
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Associated Press writers Mark Stevenson and Peter Orsi in Mexico City contributed to this report.
A relative of a missing worker argues with a Mexican army soldier as he demands to be allowed to get more information, outside the Pajaritos petrochemical complex in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Thursday, April, 21, 2016. At least 13 people are now confirmed dead and scores of others were injured in a Wednesday afternoon explosion inside the plant. The state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said the plant, operated by Mexichem, in partnership with Pemex, produces vinyl chloride, a hazardous industrial chemical. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
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Rosa Villalobos stands in front of army soldiers as she holds up a photo of her son, Luis Alfonso Ruiz, 25, (on the right of the photo), as she tries to get information on his whereabouts outside one of the main entrances to the Pajaritos petrochemical complex in the city of Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Thursday, April, 21, 2016. Ruiz is one of several workers still unaccounted for while at least 13 people are now confirmed dead and scores of others have been injured in an explosion inside this plant. The state oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said explosion occurred in a plant that produces vinyl chloride, a hazardous industrial chemical. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
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A relative places a list of missing workers outside the local hospital in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, late Wednesday April 20, 2016. An explosion rocked the nearby petrochemical plant of the state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos ( Pemex ) on Mexico's southern Gulf coast, causing evacuations in the area as a fire billowed a toxin-filled cloud into the air. Officials said three workers died and more than 100 people were injured.(AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
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BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE - In this video grab a large plume of smoke rises from the Mexican State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos' petrochemical plant after an explosion in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. The explosion killed several people, injuring dozens and sending flames and a toxin-filled cloud into the air, officials said. (Inmel Enoc via AP)
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A plume of smoke rises over the State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos' petrochemical plant in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Wednesday April 20, 2016. An explosion ripped through a petrochemical plant on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, killing 3 people, injuring dozens and sending flames and a toxin-filled cloud into the air, officials said. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
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Mexican army soldiers wearing protective face masks stand guard at an entrance of the Pajaritos petrochemical complex in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Thursday, April, 21, 2016. At least 13 people are now confirmed dead and scores of others were injured in a Wednesday afternoon explosion inside the plant. The state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos, or Pemex, said the plant, operated by Mexichem, in partnership with Pemex, produces vinyl chloride, a hazardous industrial chemical. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
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A security guard protects a store that was damaged by the shock waves of an explosion at a State oil company Petroleos Mexicanos' petrochemical plant in Coatzacoalcos, Mexico, Wednesday April 20, 2016. An explosion ripped through a petrochemical plant on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, killing 3 people, injuring dozens and sending flames and a toxin-filled cloud into the air, officials said. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
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