Customer Stories – Pipeline Explosion

Mexico City July 21, 2013. Seven first responders were injured, three in serious condition, in an explosion and subsequent fire in a Pemex Oil Pipeline in the municipality of Tonanitla – just outside of Mexico City. Pemex is Latin-America’s second largest company and Mexico’s national oil company.

The Injured included two firefighters and five policemen who were sent in to extinguish the blaze which lasted more than four hours. Two patrol cars were also incinerated by the fire.

The disaster was caused by a failed attempt to steal crude oil from the Teapa-Venta de Carpio-Tula pipeline. It was reported that the explosion ripped through the streets of Tonanitla - sending flames hundreds of feet into the air.

The Mexico City Government hired a team of experts to inspect the storm drains after the explosion. The team contacted Inspectorbots. They needed a way to explore the culverts and underground infrastructure without putting people in harms way. They wanted a Spider Mite Robot, which I prepared for them. They sent a team member to Denver to pick it up and fly it back to Mexico City.

Once the fumes and smoke dissipated, the experts were allowed into the disaster area. The Spider Mite with its pan-tilt camera, live-video feed and onboard lighting was able to crawl through the wreckage and inspect the damage while the operators stayed back in a safe area. The team reported that the Spider Mite performed flawlessly. I was thrilled because that was one of my first sales. Inspectorbots continues to serve first responders, hazmat teams and industrial inspection services through the sales and service of our very capable Industrial Inspection Robots.