Around 4:30 pm this Friday, December 23, a serious emergency occurred in the municipality of San Gil, in Santander, where a raging fire reduced a well-known hotel to “ashes.” The authorities advance the investigative work to clarify the causes of this fact.
The conflagration occurred at the Prana hotel, located behind the San Gil Terminal. Preliminary versions indicate that, apparently a fireworks, flying type, fell on the roof of the establishment, which was covered with straw (highly flammable material).
“Before the fire started, there were some people burning flyers less than 200 meters from the hotel, very close. When the last flyer sounded, the fire appeared on the roof of the hotel and due to the material with which it is built, it spread very quickly.”, said a witness to the event.
After contact, the flames immediately appeared and quickly spread throughout the roof and the building, in which there were several families staying. At the screams of the witnesses, the guests ran to save their lives.
Minutes later, the San Gil, Barichara, El Socorro and Pinchote Fire Brigade went to the scene, due to the magnitude of the fire, whose The flames exceeded three meters in height and might be seen from all sectors of this Santander municipality.
Likewise, uniformed policemen arrived at the hotel and cordoned off the area to prevent the curious who had gathered from ending up affected.
In images and videos shared through social networks, the dimension of the fire and the moments of anguish are observed, since it is still not clear if all the people who were in the hotel managed to leave on time.
Fortunately, the houses around the Prana hotel were not hit by the flames; however, residents and travelers who were in the transport terminal had to evacuate due to the smoke that spread through the place. Similarly, a threat of an explosion due to gas cylinders was initially reported, but thanks to the expertise of the firefighters, this was controlled in time.
For more than an hour, the relief agencies used various maneuvers to extinguish the flames and cool the area, thus being able to enter the hotel and verify whether or not this emergency left people injured or fatalities.
After managing to put out the fire, the authorities began the respective inquiries to determine the real causes of this unfortunate event that leaves millions in losses. In addition, it was learned that it is also investigating whether a possible gas leak might have caused the fire.
burned with gunpowder
The National Police carries out permanent operations in the department of Santander in order to counteract the sale and improper use of gunpowder in its different presentations, before the 13 people who have suffered burns with these fireworks during the December tour in the region.
In the last few hours In an articulated work between the different Police specialties, 62,328 grams of gunpowder were seized, which allowed the authorities to deliver a positive balance in operational matters, among which stands out the seizure of 40 thousand grams valued at 5 million pesos, seized by the Transit and Transportation section, during the course of this month of December.
According to the National Institute of Health (INS), gunpowder burns have been reported in: Bucaramanga (four cases), Barrancabermeja (three), Barbosa (two), while in Confines, Sabana de Torres, Floridablanca and Vélez one victim has been reported.
