Highway gas explosion kills at least 14 motorists in Mexico

A gas explosion along a highway in the Mexican state of Nayarit on Monday left at least 14 dead and several vehicles burned.  

The explosion happened outside the city of Jala on a stretch of mountain highway.  

A video capturing the event shows a group of motorists running along the highway towards what appears to be a collision when an explosion fills the sky, sending them scrambling back the way they came. One man can be heard in the video commenting on the heat generated by the blast.  

The Nayarit National Guard confirmed that at least 14 people died in the explosion and subsequent fires, according to Radio Formula. Several vehicles - including a gas tanker - were burned.  

Most of the victims died while still in their cars.  

Mexican authorities have yet to determine the cause of the explosion. Initial reports suggested a gas line running alongside the highway burst and destroyed the cars. A Facebook post from the Governor of Nayarit appears to suggest it was the tanker truck that exploded.  

"A few minutes ago, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection informed me that on the Tepic-Guadalajara highway, at the height of the Jala-Compostela cruise, an explosion of a gas tanker was recorded, which has unfortunately left several people dead until the moment," Antoni Echevarria Garcia, the state's governor, wrote.

The blast ripped through the area shortly before 11am according to the newspaper El Universal. 

Nayarit authorities closed off the road to clear debris and remove the dead and injured from the location of the explosion.  

The state's National Guard shared a photo of the aftermath on Twitter. The image depicted debris scattered across the highway and a completely burned out van perched up a hill.