Photo: Twitter / Manuel Lopez San Martin
A fire raged on the surface of the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico for more than five hours on Friday, after a gas leak from an underwater pipeline.Videos of the blaze went massively viral, as people likened the apocalyptic scenes to the Eye of Sauron, or a portal to hell.
According to the Reuters news agency, the fire began in an underwater pipeline connected to an offshore platform at the Ku Maloob Zaap oilfield, operated by Mexico’s state oil company, Pemex.
Pemex said the fire began at 5:15AM local time on Friday, and was fully extinguished by 10:30AM. It said the cause of the fire was under investigation. There are no reports of any injuries.The head of Mexico’s oil safety regulator ASEA, Ángel Carrizales, wrote on Twitter that the fire had not generated any “spill.”