A propane gas explosion recorded this Tuesday morning on Río Avenue, in the center of Pereira, has left a tragic result of two people dead and 13 injured, at least two of them with a reserved prognosis.
An incident on Avenida del Río, in the center of Pereira, occurred around 5:30 am in a residential area of the city. The origin of the explosion is attributed to a small truck that was transporting two stationary propane gas containers. According to reports, one of the containers released some of the hydrocarbon, causing the explosion.
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A video from a security camera captured the exact moment of the explosion, showing a first explosion followed by another seconds later.
In the images, a man is thrown to the ground by the shock wave and rolls several meters before getting up, visibly confused.
Luis Carmona, a resident of the area, described the scene: “There were two explosions at the same time. I came out and found the neighbors burning in flames and more than one neighbor affected. This was a calamity. There you can see how the house was left, practically destroyed; “We stayed with what we had on.”
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The Pereira fire commander, Juan Camilo Ballesteros, indicated that the emergency was caused by a “poor handling” of propane gas.
The injured were taken to hospitals and clinics in the city to receive medical attention. The explosion also generated a fire that affected about 10 homes, leaving them partially destroyed.
Jesús Peña, another person affected by the explosion, told national media: “We were with my family and we went to the back of the house because the smell of gas didn’t let us breathe. When I came out, the neighbors were alight; “Everything was on fire, the mattress also caught fire, everything caught fire.”
Local authorities have launched an investigation to clarify the exact circumstances of the explosion and prevent future similar incidents. Meanwhile, the community is recovering from the impact of this tragedy, highlighting the urgency of improving safety measures in the handling of hazardous materials.
There were three consecutive explosions that shook the sector, where dozens of people were injured and the damage is still being calculated by the authorities.
“We felt an explosion and things falling on the ceiling, and then you go out to look and there were naked people, without clothes, who had already been burned in the street, then you got scared because since we have the riot command here, you think they are attacking, but we already realized that they are not “, which was a gas pipe from a truck that was left in front,” Carlos Humberto Herrera, one of those affected, told national media.
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The Pereira authorities announced that they will provide food and a rental subsidy to the victims. There are dozens of families who do not know how they will return to their homes; For their part, the authorities are investigating whether there were irregularities in the handling of the gas container that caused the tragedy.
Agencies summary.
