The death toll from the explosion of a gas truck in Mexico City rose to eight on Thursday, after two more were injured, the mayor of Mexico City reported.

The mayor's office of Iztapalapa, one of the 16 that make up Mexico City, was shaken on Wednesday by the powerful explosion of a vehicle loaded with thousands of liters of gas as it was traveling through the populous district.

"We deeply regret confirming eight deaths," said the head of the capital's government, Clara Brugada, at a press conference. Four of the deaths were announced this Thursday.

Brugada detailed that a total of 94 people were injured, of which 22 are "in critical condition," including the truck driver, and six "in serious condition." In total, 67 are hospitalized.

Relatives await news in hospitals

Waiting for news, many relatives have remained since Wednesday at the doors of the public hospitals to which the victims were transferred.

Several people have also gone to the medical centers to bring drinks and food to the relatives. Donations of medical supplies have also been reported after some medical units ran out.

Brugada offered financial support for the injured, payment of funeral expenses, and pledged to follow up with survivors.

A toxic cloud preceded the massive explosion

The truck loaded with fuel overturned Wednesday afternoon as it was traveling through a busy intersection of bridges and avenues.

“A tremendous toxic cloud formed that eventually caught fire and caused the blaze,” Myriam Urzua, the city’s Secretary of Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection, explained to the press on Thursday.

Brugada said her government will seek to regulate the transit of vehicles carrying fuel in the megacity of 9.2 million inhabitants to prevent further tragedies.

Sheinbaum seeks “the non-repetition” of the tragedy

“It’s not just the sanctions,“The goal is not only to repair the damage, but also to seek to prevent it from happening again,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said at her regular press conference on Thursday. She explained that the federal institutions in charge of granting permits for the transportation of hazardous substances will review the regulations. Local media and social networks are showing harrowing images of people with their clothes completely consumed by fire and burns on their skin. Some of the injured were evacuated by helicopters as part of the emergency operation that involved hundreds of paramedics and military personnel. Several burned vehicles were also seen at the site, including a cargo truck with its cab destroyed. Others were left without tires and with broken windows. The smoke that caused the fire reached a trolleybus station, one of the city's main means of transportation. Investigation revolves around excessive speed. At a press conference, prosecutor Bertha Alcalde Lujan explained that "there are two very important lines of investigation that the Prosecutor's Office has," one of them being that excessive speed may have caused the accident.

"The preliminary information we have so far is that it is likely that there was excessive speed," said Alcalde Lujan.

However, the prosecutor specified that the first expert reports at the accident site are about to be completed, which will formally determine the cause of the explosion.