This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-25224304

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Mexico radioactive material found, 'no health risk' Mexico radioactive material found, thieves' lives 'in danger'
(about 1 hour later)
Radioactive medical material taken when a truck was stolen in Mexico has been found, local officials say. Dangerous radioactive medical material taken when a truck was stolen in Mexico has been found, local officials say.
They say the box which contained the cobalt-60 had been tampered with, but the material had not been removed from its protective casing. The material - cobalt-60 - was removed from a protective casing and then abandoned nearby.
The material posed no health risk for the surrounding population, Mardonio Jimenez from the National Nuclear Security Commission told local TV. The thieves may have been exposed to life-threatening radiation levels, but there is no health risk for local residents, the officials say.
The truck was stolen on Monday near the capital Mexico City. The material and the truck were found close to where they had been stolen near Mexico City on Monday.
'Opportunistic theft' 'Extremely dangerous'
The vehicle was found abandoned barely 2km (1.4 miles) from where it had been stolen from a petrol station. The radioactive material was discovered near the town of Hueypoxtla, officials from Mexico's National Nuclear Security Commission (NNSC) said. It was barely 2km (1.4 miles) from where the truck had been stolen.
Mr Jimenez said the radioactive material was now in the hands of the authorities. "We found the radioactive source removed from its container and left between 500 and 700 metres," NNSC official Mardonio Jimenez said.
But he warned that the thieves had potentially been exposed to life-threatening levels of radiation and were being sought by the police. But he warned that whoever had opened could die "because the source's intensity is very high".
"They will eventually have to go to a hospital, and we'll be waiting for them," Mr Jimenez said."They will eventually have to go to a hospital, and we'll be waiting for them," Mr Jimenez said.
The military has sealed off the area. He stressed that the radioactive material was now in the hands of the authorities.
The Volkswagen truck was stolen as its driver stopped to fill up the tank in Tepojaco. The military has now sealed off the area.
The thieves struck as the driver of the Volkswagen truck made an overnight rest stop at a petrol station in the town of Tepojaco. The driver was forced out of the vehicle at gunpoint and tied up.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) described the material as "extremely dangerous" and there was some speculation that it could have been used to build a "dirty bomb".The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) described the material as "extremely dangerous" and there was some speculation that it could have been used to build a "dirty bomb".
However, it appears that this was an opportunistic theft which went badly wrong, the BBC's Will Grant in Mexico City reports. However, the authorities believe that this was an opportunistic theft which went badly wrong.
"The vehicles are expensive because of the mechanisms to load and unload heavy material. That type of theft is very common in that area. That's why we feel the people who did this have no idea what they stole," Mr Jimenez said.
Cobalt-60 is used in cancer treatment and was being transported from a hospital in the northern city of Tijuana to a disposal centre near the capital.Cobalt-60 is used in cancer treatment and was being transported from a hospital in the northern city of Tijuana to a disposal centre near the capital.