|
|
|
|
National Tree Day Planet Ark Home
|
|
|
||
|
Stolen truck of cyanide found abandoned in Mexico |
||
|
Mail this story to a friend | Printer friendly version
|
||
| MEXICO: May 17, 2002 | ||
|
MEXICO CITY - A truck carrying 10 tonnes of deadly cyanide when it was stolen last weekend was found abandoned in central Mexico yesterday, with part of its cargo missing, police said.
|
||
|
The truck was found on a roadside in Puebla state, south of Mexico City, without some of the 96 chemical drums originally on board, said Federal Police spokesman Oscar Hernandez. Three armed men stole the vehicle on Sunday, luring it off the highway by faking a mechanical breakdown in Hidalgo state, north of Mexico City. The truck was on its way to deliver the cyanide shipment to a mining company, local media reported. The news made headlines due to speculation the material might be destined for use by international terrorists, although authorities said that was unlikely. Hernandez could not specify how much of the sodium cyanide, used for cleaning precious metals, was missing, but he said there was no evidence any of the material had been transported far from the area where the truck was found. Experts were examining the truck and the area, including searching by helicopter, to check for contamination after finding one drum of cyanide opened inside the truck, he said.
|
||
|
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
|
||
|
