‘Extremely dangerous’ radioactive material stolen in Mexico truck hijacking

Authorities warn public that contact with materials inside the truck ‘can prove fatal’. Chris Havler-Barrett reports from Mexico City

File image of Mexican police on patrol. National agencies said law enforcement had been called in to search for the missing truck (AFP via Getty Images)

The Mexican government has warned inhabitants of the densely populated central states that a truck carrying highly radioactive material was stolen from the town of Teoloyucan during an armed heist in the early hours of Sunday.

National security agencies warned that the stolen equipment – a QSA Delta 800 gamma ray projector – is extremely dangerous, and could deliver a fatal dose of radiation to anyone who comes into direct contact with it.

Teoloyucan, the district in which the incident occurred, is a satellite town in the Estado de Mexico, the region which surrounds Mexico City. The vehicle, a Toyota Hilux, was carrying industrial inspection equipment containing the radioactive elements iridium-192, selenium-75 and ytterbium-169 when it was hijacked.