not on fox news .... on Fox News Latino .... MEXICO CITY (AP) – Six people tested for possible radiation exposure have been released from hospital but remain under detention as suspects in the theft of a truck carrying highly radioactive cobalt-60, officials said Friday. Of the detained men, ages 16 to 38, only the 16-year-old showed signs of radiation exposure and he was in good health, a spokeswoman for Hidalgos Health Department said on condition of anonymity because she isnt allowed to discuss the case. The six were detained Thursday as part of the investigation and taken to the general hospital in Pachuca for testing. After being cleared by health authorities on Friday, the men were turned over to federal authorities in connection with the case of the cargo truck stolen Monday at gunpoint outside Mexico City. The cobalt-60 it was carrying was from obsolete radiation therapy equipment. Officials have not said what roles the six allegedly had in the theft. Hidalgo state Health Minister Pedro Luís Noble said earlier Friday the men suffered from skin irritations and dizziness, but that none were in serious condition. Only one was vomiting, a sign of radiation poisoning. The theft triggered alerts in six Mexican states and Mexico City, as well as international notifications to the U.S. and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. It raised concerns that the material could have been stolen to make a dirty bomb, a conventional explosive that disseminates radioactive material. The atomic energy agency said the cobalt has an activity of 3,000 curies, or Category 1, meaning it would probably be fatal to be close to this amount of unshielded radioactive material for a period in the range of a few minutes to an hour. But Mexican officials said that the thieves seemed to have targeted the truck, which has a moveable platform and crane, and likely didnt know about the dangerous cargo. The six were arrested by Hidalgo state police, said state attorney generals spokesman Fernando Hidalgo. The driver of the truck, who had stopped to rest at a gas station early Monday when the theft occurred, said two armed men made him get out, tied his hands and feet and left him in a vacant lot. Hidalgo said he didnt know how or if the others were involved. The truck was found abandoned Wednesday about 40 kilometers (24 miles) from where it was stolen, and the container for the radioactive material was found opened. The cobalt-60 pellets were left about a kilometer (half mile) from the truck in an empty rural field, where authorities said they were a risk only to those who had handled them and not to anyone in Hueypoxtla, the closest town of about 4,000 people. There was no evacuation. The cobalt-60 was from a hospital in the northern city of Tijuana and was being transported to nuclear waste facility in the state of Mexico, which borders Mexico City. Authorities maintained a 500-meter (yard) cordon around the site where the cobalt-60 still remains in the state of Mexico and continued to work Friday to extract it safely, said Juan Eibenschutz, director general of Mexicos National Commission of Nuclear Safety and Safeguards. Its quite an operation and it is in the process of being planned, he said. Its highly radioactive, so you cannot just go over and pick it up. Its going to take a while to pick it up. ollow us on twitter/foxnewslatino Like us at facebook/foxnewslatino Print Email Share inShare RELATED VIDEO Alan Gross Wife Fights For Release Of Husband Jailed In Cuba RELATED SLIDESHOW best pix12 (48).jpg Best Pix Of The Week sports best 12 (44).jpg Best Sports Pix Of The Week Aeromozas Mexicanas Playboy Jobless Mexicana Flight Attendants Pose for Calendar RELATED STORIES Coca Production Down In Colombia And Cartel Infighting In Mexico Means Less Cocaine In U.S. Streets Mexico Releases U.S. Teen Who Killed For Drug Cartel Drug War Continues But Most Of Mexico Is Safe For Travel And Business, Experts Say Fight Over Mexicos State-Run Oil Monopoly May Begin This Week As Crime Drops, Americans Begin To Return To Mexicos Baja RECOMMENDED STORIES California Woman Kidnapped For 10 Years Went To Police After She Reunited With Her Mother, Cops Say Supreme Court: Immigrant Children Over 21 Lose Privileges, Go To Back Of Visa Line Deportation Costs Surge As Growing Number Of Central Americans Illegally Enter U.S. Florida Democratic Congressman Under Fire For Saying Communism Works Shakira To Stay Away From Pique During World Cup So She Wont Be A Distraction World Cup: From Jerseys To Big Macs, Brazils High Prices Shock Tourists ALSO ON THE WEB 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies (Foodie) The 8 Worst Foods To Avoid At All Costs (RunHaven) The Secret to Whiter Teeth Is Easier Than You May Think (WebMD) 5 States that Will Take the Most of Your Paycheck in Income Taxes (Monster) US fears Pearl Harbor in space (Nikkei Asian Review) The 10 Most Convincing Bigfoot Photos Ever Captured (Answers)
Posted on: Sun, 15 Jun 2014 14:35:29 +0000