Municipal authorities and tourism service providers are preparing to take legal action against the Mexican state-owned oil company PEMEX over environmental damages caused by the explosion and subsequent fire on the Burgos tanker off the coast of Veracruz.
The mayor of Boca del Río, Miguel Ángel Yunes Márquez, and service providers claim that the company is attempting to cover up the damages caused by the tanker that was transporting over 167 thousand barrels of oil.
The mayor said that he will take joint action with the Attorney General to demand that PEMEX repair the environmental damages to municipal beaches caused by the tanker fire.
He claims that the state-owned company is attempting to cover up the damages. “The truth is that we've taken samples of water at the beaches, namely Santa Ana beach, and we confirmed that waves are bringing in oil residue,” he said.
He warned that damages may be irreversible, which is why he will continue to demand that PEMEX do something about the damages in Boca del Rio.
In addition, tourist boat operators announced that they too will take legal against the state-owned company as a result of the damages to the nearby national coral reef park as a result of the explosion.
The boat operators claim that tourism has fallen by over 50% because of tourists' concerns regarding the safety of the water.
Aracely Martínez, a local tourist service provider, says that “tourism really has fallen by 50%. People are too concerned about the contamination in the water. We're trying to sell our services but people are too afraid. We've tried taking some tourists to the reef, but halfway there you can see that the water is full of oil residue,” she says.