Around 8:00 pm, this Saturday, October 1, a strong explosion broke the tranquility that was felt in the Pozo Siete sector in Barrancabermeja, Santander. There, in a company dedicated to the sale and distribution of gas several cylinders exploded, in turn generating a fire of great magnitude.
In videos broadcast through social networks, it is possible to observe the tragedy that occurred in the El Progreso neighborhood, to the extent that Four firefighting machines arrived to try to control the conflagration that, according to the preliminary report, has left more than 26 injuredat least more than five dead and several disappeared, among them children.
“We cannot give a complete balance because the emergency has not yet been controlled, there are still flames and some cylinders did not manage to explode, for which new explosions might be generated. We are evacuating the residents of the sector, but we need everyone to collaborate to avoid a major tragedy, we have 90% of the fire under control”, explained Adith Romero Polanco, Undersecretary of Risk Management of Barrancabermeja.
Likewise, the preliminary balance indicates that several damages to infrastructures have been reported. In the place, until now, traces of skin, blood and it is even presumed that parts of burned bodies. In addition to this, several pets have been affected.
According to witnesses to the event, the emergency occurred near a house where a children’s party was taking place, for which it is presumed that several children would have been seriously affected. However, the authorities have not officially confirmed this version.
On the site there are also Civil Defense personnel, uniformed Police and Army personnel, who They carry out a marathon task to safeguard the lives of the residents of the area and to be able to control the intense flameswhich are becoming more and more powerful.
Meanwhile, the people who have been affected have been transferred in ambulances to the La Magdalena, San José and the Magdalena Medio Regional Hospital, where a collapse in the emergency area is reported, due to the high demand for patients, for which the authorities They declared a hospital yellow alert to activate all the emergency units of the District’s care centers.
“We cannot confirm if the remains found (head) are of adults or minors, We are waiting for the firefighters to finish putting out the flames, to be able to enter the place and be able to carry out the respective inspection of the place”, indicate the relief agencies.
Officials from the CTI of the Prosecutor’s Office also arrived at the site, thus confirming that people would have been left dead instead. The situation is quite dramatic, as can be seen in photos and videos shared on social networks.
It should be remembered that the most recent emergency recorded in Barrancabermeja was a landslide caused by torrential downpours affected at least five homes in this population.
The emergency took place in the Kennedy neighborhood in the early hours of Wednesday, September 28, where the Barrancabermeja Fire Department was present, who managed to evacuate these families from their properties, some of them were helped by paramedics.
“It started to rain heavily, then a wall of the house fell down and we immediately evacuated. There are five other houses affected in the area”, said one of the victims.
For its part, the Undersecretary of Risk Management carried out a technical visit to the scene of the events to assess the damages affected and subsequently the characterization of these families from Barranquilla. Fortunately, there were no injured people or victims to regret, there was only material damage.
