At least one woman died and 33 people were injured this Wednesday in an explosion at a gunpowder and fireworks factory in the Colombian municipality of Soacha, neighboring the capital Bogotá, authorities reported.
Source: RFI
“The health authorities report 33 injured people and a woman who, unfortunately, lost her life,” the town’s mayor, Juan Sánchez Perico, said on the social network .
The official had earlier informed journalists at the scene of “29 injured, two in critical condition,” who were transferred to the nearby hospital network.
The detonation, whose origin is being investigated, shook an industrial area of the populous town south of Bogotá at 4:38 p.m. local time (9:38 p.m. GMT), according to local media.
In the affected factory there were 150 workers who “were evacuated,” the mayor said.
Aerial images shared by W Radio showed emergency services fighting the fire inside the building with several tankers.
“So far, 80% of the emergency is under control,” said Sánchez, assuring that more than 280 first responders are on site.
The authorities of the neighboring capital of the country mobilized a team of “19 firefighters, 2 fire extinguishers, 2 tank trucks and 1 hazardous materials machine” to Soacha to collaborate with the work, Mayor Luis Carlos Galán said on the social network X.
According to videos published on social networks by residents of the sector, the explosion caused a huge column of smoke that rose over the town.
The windows of nearby homes were destroyed, as shown in other recordings provided to AFP by firefighters.
© 2024 AFP
