At least 20 people have been killed after a gas tanker exploded on a major road in a suburb of Mexico City.
Parts of the trailer were hurled scores of feet in all directions after the truck carrying natural gas lost control on a ten-lane highway.
A huge piece of one of the tanks towed by the truck was blown 50 yards by the force of the blast, landing on top of the wall of a house and cars parked outside.
Television footage showed plumes of flame shooting out of homes in the pre-dawn darkness after the 5.30am (local time) blast.
Debris was flung across a wide area Officials did not rule out the possibility the death toll could rise more as emergency workers continued sifting through the charred remains of vehicles and homes.
At least three dozen people in the built up area of Ecatepec were injured and a number of pigs and other farm animals that were kept on patios were killed.
Rita Enriquez, 42, a housewife who lives near where the blast occurred, said: "It was thunderous sound. I thought we were all going to die.
"When we ran out, we saw a car on fire and flames everywhere. Smoke was pouring all over the freeway."
Enriquez said five of her relatives were gravely injured. Her 15-year-old niece, Wendy Garrido, who was pregnant, was forced to give birth in the aftermath of the explosion, she said.
Cesar Gomez, Mexico state health secretary, said some of the injured people receiving care had burns over at least 70% of their bodies.
The blast happened before dawn at 5.30am He said the teenager and baby survived, but both are in intensive care. More than 20 remained in hospital at various facilities by Tuesday afternoon, eight in a critical condition.
Mr Gomez said some of the victims may be airlifted to Texas for burns treatment.
The driver, Juan Olivares, 36, was heading to Mexico City from Pachuca, a city to the north, when he hit a barrier in the central reservation.
The truck was pulling two gas tanks. One flew into a house and exploded, killing 15, and another part of a tank hit a separate house, killing four.
Jose Luis Cervantes, assistant prosecutor for the state of Mexico, said the driver may face manslaughter and property damage charges.
The road was closed all day with emergency services flooding the scene Hundreds of police, ambulance drivers, paramedics, soldiers and firefighters rushed to the scene.
Pablo Bedolla, the mayor of Ecatepec, said: "People are very shaken, above all because of the injuries and the large number of dead. I've spoken with the families of the victims, and they are just sobbing."
Speaking in Mexico City, President Enrique Pena Nieto suggested something would have to be done to separate major highways from poor neighbourhoods.
He said: "I have instructed the Transportation Department ... to review the safety conditions on this federal highway in places where structures have been built on the right of way, so that in the near future, work can be carried out to make it safer."
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