Jose Cuervo tequila factory explosion kills six: officials

At least six workers have died in an explosion and fire at a tequila factory in Mexico, local authorities said.

Two others were injured in the disaster, at a Casa Cuervo distillery in the town of Tequila, Jalisco state. Casa Cuervo is the world’s largest producer of the Mexican spirit, according to its website, encompassing the Jose Cuervo and Tequila 1800 brands, among others.

“The incident involved the explosion of a tank car,” Jalisco’s civil protection agency said, adding that the fire ignited three additional tank cars, each with a capacity of 219,000 liters.

The cause of the fire is not yet known, authorities said. At least 40 firefighting and civil protection teams responded to the incident.

In a statement, Casa Cuervo said it was assisting authorities with their investigation and would reinforce security controls at its facilities.

The state’s Civil Protection agency said that another fire broke out at the factory Wednesday morning in a storage area for cardboard and other materials, but that fire was quickly controlled and no additional risks were reported.

An area is damaged following an explosion at a Jose Cuervo tequila plant, in Tequila, Jalisco state, Mexico on July 23. (JAL Civil Protection/X/Reuters via CNN Newsource)

The mayor of Tequila, Alfonso Magallanes, shared a post on his Facebook page urging residents not to approach the factory due to the ongoing situation.

Jalisco state is the largest producer of agave, the key ingredient in tequila, generating nearly 75 per cent of the nation’s annual crop. The town of Tequila, which gives the liquor its name, is a center for tourism, receiving an average of more than one million visitors annually from Mexico and abroad, according to data from the mayor’s office.

In February, Mexico’s Chamber of Deputies approved a law to change National Tequila Day from the third Saturday of March to July 24, to coincide with the same date celebrated in the United States, its northern neighbor and largest trading partner.

The U.S. is the largest market for Mexican tequila exports. Adjusted for inflation, between 2014 and 2019, tequila imports increased from $1.1 billion to $4.9 billion, according to 2023 figures from the US Department of Agriculture.