Attorney General José Gerez confirmed this morning that there is a survivor of the fire at the New American Oil (NAO) refinery in Plaza Huincul. The young man, named Juan Pablo, preferred not to speak to the media until now, due to the situation of anguish he is going through. “He was in a state of shock,” he reported on Vos A Diario de RN Radio. yesterday, due to the fact three oil workers died. Today the autopsy is performed and a new tour of the plant, in which RÍO NEGRO participated. At noon, the meeting of oil tankers with companies and Governor Omar Gutiérrez was organized to talk regarding security.
23/09
17:30
The oil strike was lifted following signing an agreement
The meeting between the Petroleum union, companies in the sector and the government of Neuquén culminated in an agreement and the lifting of the force measure initiated yesterday by the union.
Among the agreed points is the “immediate incorporation of the Joint Committee on Safety, Prevention and Hygiene to the Provincial Government and the ART Mutual MEOPP as integral parts of it, with the aim of enforcing regulatory compliance to strengthen security conditions. For these purposes, a meeting date is set for Thursday, October 6 of the current year.
23/09
17:00
The second tour of the prosecution in 14 impressive photos
Today a new tour of the burned plant was made in Plaza Huincul, in which RÍO NEGRO participated. At noon, the meeting of oil tankers with companies and Governor Omar Gutiérrez was organized to talk regarding security. Fernando Ranni pictures.
23/09
16:30
The meeting advances towards an agreement between the three parties
At 4:30 p.m. it was revealed that the meeting between the oil companies, the union and the Neuquén government will advance in the form of a “tripartite” agreement. Although it is ruled out that it contemplates a change in the Collective Bargaining Agreement of the sector.
23/09
16:00
The second day of expertise in the area of the tragedy
The chief prosecutor José Geréz and the prosecutor in the case Ana María Mathieu toured the NAO refiner. An expert in safety and hygiene from oil companies and the Neuquén Police participated in the procedure, which used a drone to take aerial photographs of each quadrant that makes up the plant. In addition, documentation was seized that will be contributed to the case.
23/09
15:30
The meeting took longer than expected
The meeting between the representatives of the oil companies, union and government of the province of Neuquén extended its beginning. The last to arrive was Governor Gutiérrez and just following 3:00 p.m. the exchange between all the parties in the DUAM space began.
23/09
15:00
Who attended the meeting for safety in the deposits
Yesterday, the oil tankers’ union launched a strike and called the companies to a meeting. Today Guillermo Pereyra and Marcelo Rucci attended for the union, Governor Omar Gutiérrez and directors of YPF, Tecpetrol, Pluspetrol, Pan American Energy, Vista, Shell and Fox Petrol.
23/09
14:30
The rescued trucker
Yesterday a video was broadcast of a truck driver who was at the refinery and said that they had managed to rescue another driver, who might not open the door. It was learned that he was assisted by the union and that, following testifying before the prosecution, he left Huincul.
23/09
13:55
The meeting for security in the deposits began
Minutes before 2:00 p.m., the arrival of Governor Omar Gutiérrez and the beginning of the meeting with the oil union and the business chamber were confirmed. The workers have been on strike since yesterday, due to the death of their three companions.
23/09
13:30
Deputies came together to ask for clarity on the origin of the fire
Pablo Cervi and Francisco Sánchez (Together for Change), Tanya Bertoldi and Guillermo Carnaghi (Frente de Todos), and Rolando Figueroa (Neuquino Popular Movement) presented a bill in Congress lamenting the deaths of the oil tankers and asking for clarity on the origin of the fire.
“It is urgent to determine the causes that caused the event, as well as to establish the corresponding responsibilities and penalties,” they assured.
23/09
13:00
They wait for the governor to start the meeting
In the DUAM space, representatives of oil tankers and businessmen were waiting for Omar Gutiérrez to start the meeting in which security in the fields will be addressed.
23/09
12:30
Tankers and companies face to face
For this noon, the meeting of the oil tankers’ union with representatives of the companies was scheduled to talk regarding safety. Although it had been said that it was going to be at the union headquarters, the meeting was organized in the DUAM space.
23/09
12:00
The prosecution takes over
At noon, Attorney General José Gerez arrived at Plaza Huincul to accompany the examinations carried out at the refinery.
23/09
11:00
The survivor was admitted to the Plaza Huincul sanatorium
After saving his life and fighting the flames to try to save his companions, the sole survivor of the fire was hospitalized with burns and receiving psychological care, Rucci confirmed.
23/09
10:00
last day of mourning
The provincial and municipal governments decreed two days of mourning as of yesterday, in honor of the oil tankers.
23/09
09:30
They carry out the autopsy of the oil tankers
The bodies they were transferred yesterday to the morgue in Neuquen capital. They will then undergo DNA analysis to determine which one is which.
23/09
09:00
Prosecutor Gérez returns to the refinery
The attorney general will accompany the prosecutors Sandra González Taboada and Ana María Mathieu on a new tour of the plant.
23/09
08:30
Today they carry out the autopsy of the oil tankers
They will then undergo a DNA analysis to determine which one is which.
23/09
08:00
They confirmed that there is a survivor
Attorney General José Gerez confirmed that there is a survivor in the tragedy at the Plaza Huincul refinery
Gerez commented that the survivor was in a security checkpoint, at the access to the plant. He described that he is a young man who is in a couple, with two children. Person He is not an employee of the company, but works providing security services for a private entity. The prosecutor said that yesterday they took his testimony.
He stressed that what he told was very important because he recounted “a succession of events that lead to the explosion of one of the tanks that contained fuel oil”.
He expanded that he tried to help his companions. “He might not go out through the gate of the sentry box because the fire had already embraced that sentry box, he broke a glass with his hand and he stayed working and trying to save his colleagues and putting out the fire with the rest of the workers and people from firefighters and companies that went to the scene, “said the prosecutor.
He said that he contributed valuable elements to the cause because “he was at the time.” He noted that the young man’s testimony coincides with the hypothesis that he has been working on.
“The young man had to overcome some difficulties, that is also a matter of investigation, because all the gates were padlocked. We have asked the company for the safety and evacuation protocols. He practically found himself surrounded and unable to get out. We want to see if these padlocks are compatible with an efficient evacuation system,” added Gerez in the radio interview.
He said the plant is partially burned. «Yesterday’s pictures were apocalyptic with the fire extinguished«, He described what he observed regarding his visit yesterday at the facilities and reported that today he will return to the place once more.
In addition, the oil leader Marcelo Rucci indicated that the young man was admitted to the sanatorium that the union has in Huincul. He had burns and injuries. He also received psychological care.
The general secretary of the union confirmed the meeting convened for this noon, with the assistance of the companies.
How the investigation into the refinery tragedy progresses
José Gerez reported that yesterday a prosecution team made an inspection at the refinery in Plaza Huincul. He communicated that the investigation will not only be limited to knowing the cause and the origin that produced the death of the workers. He also inquires if there is any criminal figure that reached a worker and added that “A comprehensive report will be made whether or not the plant was operating in accordance with the regulations.”
In the followingnoon he said that he was “an expert witness who is a specialist to determine the origin of this type of explosion” and also a fire department.
He noted that the three workers who died “did not perform any specific work that might have led to the explosion.”
“Something originated in the plant that alerted the workers to go to the emergency room to take refuge in order to activate the water emergency or the alarm that is approximately 35 meters from the tank that exploded and they were found midwayregarding 25 meters away, all together, so it seems that they saw something before they went to take shelter, “explained Gerez.
Listen to Attorney General José Gerez, in “Vos a Diario” by RN Radio.
Tune in to RN RADIO. Listen to us on FM 90.9 from Neuquén, on FM 105.7 from Roca, on rionegro.com.ar/radio or on our App.
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