A total of 22 people injured, of which 6 warranted transfer to hospitals for medical care, is the preliminary balance of the explosion that occurred this Monday in the 1909 building on Coyoacán Avenue, in the Acacias neighborhood, Benito Juárez mayor’s office.
The reason for the incident was accumulation of LP gas in an apartment located on the third level.
Of the six people who required hospital care, three were taken to the Xoco General Hospital; one, to Rubén Leñero; another, to San Ángel Inn and the last, to Médica Sur, reported the head of government, Claudia Sheinbaum, after touring the damaged building.
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One of the injured persons has medium degree burns and the rest are in mild condition. In addition to the injured, two more people had Covid-19, so they were transferred to the Enrique Cabrera hospital for medical follow-up.
So far, reported the head of government, the mayor of Benito Juárez, Santiago Taboada, and the secretary of Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection of the capital government, Myriam Urzúa, only material damage has been registered in the affected property and there are no people deceased.
The building where the explosion occurred was insured, said the capital president, so steps are being taken to apply the insurance and, in addition to that, the affected people will be supported with a shelter, if they require it.
Specialized personnel from the Institute for Construction Safety (ISC) arrived at the scene of the incident, who together with experts from the Attorney General’s Office, will determine the structural conditions in which the property was left, which is made up of 24 departments distributed in three floors. The surrounding buildings will also be reviewed to rule out risks.
As a preventive measure, 300 people were evacuated from neighboring buildings, although no damage was recorded in more buildings. There were also power outages in the area.
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Witnesses reported that the explosion was heard up to 4 kilometers around. The tenants indicated that a very strong explosion was felt, which made the building shake and burst all the glassware and even some walls and slabs of the property. Dozens of people were cut in the face, head and body by glass shards, and others with nervous breakdowns.
Elements of the Heroic Fire Department, the Secretariat for Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection of the city government, Civil Protection of the Benito Juárez mayor’s office, ambulances from the Red Cross, the Rescue Squad and Medical Emergencies and private, as well as police from the Secretariat of Citizen Security.