The Gulf of Mexico is literally on fire due to a ruptured pipeline: What you need to know

Picture courtesy: gCaptain

A fire on the ocean surface west of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula early on Friday has been extinguished with the help of three boats, state oil company Pemex confirmed, blaming a gas leak from an underwater pipeline at Ku Maloob Zaap, for sparkling the blaze captured in videos that went viral. The fires took about five hours to fully put out.

Pemex said no injuries were reported and production from the project was not affected after the gas started around 5 a.m. and was completely put out by 10:30 a.m.

Ku Maloob Zaap is one of Pemex's most productive cluster of oil fields, accounting for over 700,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, or about 40% of the company's total output, according to data from the Energy Ministry.