Hours of terror were experienced yesterday at the Nicolás Federico Lohse Vargas High School, in Los Vilos, when, due to a gas emanation, a devastating explosion occurred in the classroom, leaving 18 students injured and teacher Marcela Cortés with a 45 % of her body burned, having to be transferred to Santiago. Her daughter Paulina de ella reports that her mother had been requesting that the facilities be repaired for some time and now they are preparing legal action against the establishment.
«My son arrived a little late, otherwise he would have been in the room when the explosion occurred. “What happened was terrible.” With these words, Sandro Ibacache, manager of the middle room of the Liceo Nicolás Federico Lohse Vargas, begins his story about the event that occurred in the establishment, where at 8:05 in the morning an explosion occurred that practically destroyed the entire gastronomic area of the school. educational facility, something that the student’s own father, says, “saw coming.”
It could be worst
Despite the seriousness of the incident, it could have been worse, since it occurred at a time when the students were entering the classroom, so some were far from the critical point. However, at least 18 injuries of various degrees were also recorded, three of them more serious, but out of any risk.
The scene that firefighters encountered when they arrived at the scene was dramatic, and, according to witnesses, the noise could even be heard from outside the school. “We were able to see a large amount of destruction on the roof, as a result of the gas explosion, and then we had to cooperate in the evacuation, containing the emergency,” the volunteers reported, making the causes of the explosion clear.
Investigation
Carabineros from the Illapel sub-police station also arrived at the scene, reporting to the Public Ministry, from where the work of the IAPA and Labocar was instructed to carry out the corresponding procedures, such as verifying injuries and, if possible, taking photographs. «In addition, a technical report was requested from the Fire Department; the verification of security cameras, their analysis and the referral of those records to the Los Vilos Prosecutor’s Office. (…) Along with this, collect evidence, review the possible causes and the possible participation of third parties,” the Prosecutor’s Office stated.
“Professor Marcela”
Although 18 students were injured, with three of them more serious, the one who bore the brunt was Professor Marcela Cortés, who, according to reports from the Los Vilos Hospital, was left with burns on 45% of her body, due to which was transferred first to the Coquimbo hospital and later to Santiago.
According to parents, it was the same teacher who repeatedly warned about the gas emissions that were occurring. “She got tired of complaining to the high school director and they didn’t take her into account, because she warned what could happen,” says Sandro Ibacache.
After “so much complaint”, maintenance would have been carried out, but teacher Marcela even commented with her family that they were not optimal. This is stated by her daughter Pamela, who traveled with her mother to Santiago, to the Workers’ Hospital. «This has been going on for quite some time. Purchases were made last year to repair this. An assembly was held and my mother explained everything that was missing and what was wrong, that is what I know, but it was not held and now we see the results,” she says.
Health condition
At the close of this edition, the professor was being evaluated by a team led by a plastic surgeon, and although in principle it was said that she had 45% of her body burned, this had to be confirmed. “Here the surgeon is evaluating it and will inform us when my mother enters the ward,” said the teacher’s daughter.
Legal actions
Although at this moment the most important thing is the health of Marcela Cortés, the family is also clear that there will later be legal actions against the school. “I am waiting for relatives who come from Los Vilos, but obviously we are going to take action for what happened, because these things cannot happen,” concluded Pamela Cortés, who arrived in Los Vilos when she was 5 years old, accompanying her mother, who Today he is living this difficult moment.
Authorities
From the Superintendence of Education, the regional director Fernando Sermeño stated that an ex officio complaint was filed as soon as the situation was known, which would be critical. “Given the seriousness of the incident, the case went directly to inspection, where we will review on the ground whether or not the establishment had the security measures required by educational regulations and whether it activated the respective protocols,” said Sermeño, adding that, ” If non-compliance is detected, an administrative process will be initiated, which could lead to UTM fines and other types of sanctions, depending on the severity of the infraction.
Minister on the lookout
The event acquired a national connotation, so the Seremi of Education of the Coquimbo Region, Cecilia Ramírez, in addition to regretting the event and coordinating the transfer of the teacher to Santiago, reported that “our minister Nicolás Cataldo is personally monitoring and attending to the needs of this fact, also coordinating with services related to the Ministry of Health.
For now, classes at the establishment were suspended until further notice, in a decision that was made during a meeting held yesterday afternoon, attended by authorities and the educational community.
It should be noted that the representatives also made their annoyance known in a powerful way, holding demonstrations outside the municipality.
