At 8:05 this Thursday, teacher Marcela Cortés Figueroa arrived at the room where she would hold, like every day in recent decades, her gastronomy workshop at the Liceo Nicolás Federico Lohse Vargas, located in the commune of Los Vilos.
However, it was enough for the teacher to turn on the lights in the establishment’s room for that spark to generate an impressive explosion resulting from an apparent gas leak.
A true “bombshell” that was heard in a large part of the commune and that left Professor Cortés with 45% of her body burned, at least 18 students injured, and an official with acoustic trauma. The students, meanwhile, who had just joined their school day, did not know what had happened: for some it was like an earthquake, and others only managed to escape by following the rigorous protocols established by the teachers. Many of the students were injured by splinters from the structure and, mainly, by the glass from the windows that flew throughout the high school. Meanwhile, another no less important number of students were disoriented by the loud noise and momentarily lost their balance.
According to the story of Claudia, a student who, at that time, was about to enter the high school, several of her classmates were left with a nervous breakdown and all they wanted was to leave the premises and take shelter in the Plaza de Armas of the commune. , which is across the street.
“It was like being in a war or an earthquake; no one knew what to do. The good thing is that the teachers assisted the injured,” said the young woman.
Meanwhile, Lucas Ramírez, president of the high school student center, stated that the teacher just turned on the light and everything exploded. “Many girls were left with panic attacks and headaches. The children ran in all directions, and they all supported each other to get out,” Ramírez said.
Read also: Video shows the magnitude of destruction after an explosion at the Los Vilos high school
POSSIBLE CAUSES
After the serious event, the authorities indicated that they are investigating the cause of the explosion, but unofficially, it would have been generated by damage to the gas connection or because a valve had remained open since the previous day.
In this context, the Public Ministry reported that various procedures were carried out, such as the verification of injuries. In addition, a technical report was requested from firefighters, the verification of security cameras, their analysis and the referral of those records to the Los Vilos Prosecutor’s Office. Likewise, it was requested that LABOCAR of Carabineros could review and collect evidence, as well as investigate the possible causes and the possible participation of third parties.
In this context, the mayor of Los Vilos, Christian Gross, maintained that the true extent of the damage to the facility or the causes of the explosion are still unknown. “We are going to meet with teachers and parents because we are going to have to make a contingency plan. For now, we will suspend classes for two days. We are concerned about the continuity of the technical-professional, since we had developed equipment and infrastructure work. All necessary measures will be taken,” said the Vila mayor.
TRANSFER OF INJURED
After the initial impact of the explosion, it was revealed that teacher Marcela Cortés had suffered severe burns to her face and arms. After being rushed to the San Pedro de Los Vilos Hospital, where she received the first attention, she was referred to the Workers’ Hospital of Santiago, where she remains out of life-threatening condition but with serious injuries. Likewise, around twenty students also suffered minor injuries, such as cuts caused by broken glass as a result of the explosion and acoustic trauma. This caused a real stampede of parents to the Vila hospital, who wanted to know the real state of health of their children, since they considered that it was a true miracle that “only” the teacher ended up with serious injuries. Another official, meanwhile, had to be transferred to the Chilean Security Association of Illapel due to acoustic trauma.
OLD COMPLAINT
At this point, however, it should be remembered that in April 2023, a group of representatives held a demonstration demanding improvements to the facility’s infrastructure due to concerns about possible accidents. On that occasion, they affirm that they were informed by the Municipality of Los Vilos that an investment of $170 million would be allocated to improve the establishment.
Specifically, teacher Marcela Cortés, who has been teaching courses at the high school for more than 30 years, was one of the officials who had denounced the poor conditions of the gastronomic workshop facilities.
And although these criticisms had been coming for years, the teacher had intensified them recently.
RESPONSIBILITIES
On that occasion, the municipal administrator himself, Ernesto Jorquera, admitted, in an interview with national media, that work was being done on the maintenance of the establishment, whose electrical and gas installations were not certified. “We knew the difficulties we had with the gastronomic in its habitability. We had to go to recertification. That is why we had put out a tender to carry out the diagnosis and see all the repairs in all the establishments in our network. At this time it was not certified, we understand the seriousness,” said Jorquera.
In this regard, the Seremi of Education of Coquimbo, Cecilia Ramírez, explained that it is necessary to carry out an exhaustive investigation regarding the infrastructure conditions and the reasons that caused this situation. “This is why, first thing in the morning, once this event occurred, an ex officio complaint was filed with the Superintendency of Education of the Coquimbo Region. Therefore, the inspection team is already processing this complaint.”
MANIFESTATION
Meanwhile, the Vileño social leader and former regional councilor, Jaime Herrera, revealed that the last major investment made in the high school was during the administration of Juan Jorquera in 2012, in which all the roofs of the pavilions and the casino were repaired, due to leaks and the presence of pigeon droppings that had invaded the ceilings. “In the administration of Manuel Marcarián, another minor intervention was carried out with the repair of the bathrooms and patios, and even the roofing of the multi-court. But in the Gastronomy area nothing was done. As has been reported, there had already been warnings of gas leaks in the facilities,” Herrera said.
During the afternoon of this Thursday, meanwhile, a group of students came to the front of the municipality to protest what they considered negligence on the part of the authorities. Among the screams, the slogan stood out, “the teacher warned and no one listened.”
In this regard, Lucas Ramírez, president of the high school student center, indicated that since 2016 there had been warnings about the issue and no action had been taken. “Until the establishment is secured, we are not going to enter,” he stated.
For his part, Sebastián Henríquez, spokesperson for the teachers of the Liceo Nicolás Federico Lohse, indicated that they will hold a meeting with the authorities to define the future of the high school. “As was recorded in many minutes, there was a structural problem and damage that had to be fixed in the ‘Gastronomic’. That was discussed with the authorities,” he said.
The teacher stated that there are no adequate conditions to carry out their work and that as an educational unit they will not resume their functions until a responsible body, other than the municipality, certifies that they are safe. “We will not return until conditions are guaranteed, both for our safety and that of the students,” he concluded.
