A vehicle leaves the area of an explosion of a Pemex pipeline in the village of San Martin Texmelucan near Puebla, Mexico, Dec. 19.

A firefighter and a resident help evacuate a person at the site of an explosion of a Pemex pipeline in the village of San Martin Texmelucan near Puebla, Dec. 19. The oil pipeline exploded in central Mexico on Sunday, creating a "river of fire" and killing 23 people, a local official said.

A view of a burnt road after an explosion of a pipeline in San Martin Texmelucan, Mexico, Dec. 19.

A police officer arrives at the site of an explosion of a Pemex pipeline in the village of San Martin Texmelucan near Puebla Dec. 19. The pipeline maintained by state oil monopoly Pemex exploded at around 5 a.m. in the small community about 50 miles east of Mexico City.