A white Volkswagen truck that was stolen at a gas station in Mexico Monday is no ordinary truck: It's carrying "extremely dangerous" radioactive material, officials say. Authorities are conducting a wide search for the truck, which had been heading to a disposal facility. They're also warning the thieves that they could face serious health problems.
Mexico's nuclear safety group, known as CNSNS, issued a public alert Tuesday, saying that federal, state, and local authorities are looking in at least six states for the Volkswagen Worker truck, which is equipped with a crane and bears the license plate 726-DT-8.
From the BBC:
"The radiotherapy source was being taken from a hospital in the northern city of Tijuana to a waste storage center.
"It was stolen near the capital, Mexico City.
"Mexico's Nuclear Security Commission said that at the time of the theft, the cobalt-60 teletherapy source was 'properly shielded.'"