Two men died in an explosion of a 10,000-gallon fuel tanker in the Las Caobas neighborhood, at the intersection of the Prolongacion 27 de Febrero and Las Palmas. The dead were 49-year old Gilberto Arismendy Sandoval, a mechanic at the shop where the tanker was being repaired, and 33-year old Marino Aguero. Aguero was not an employee of the shop but was apparently assisting Sandoval. The Police say that the explosion occurred because the safety rules of the shop were not observed. Apparently the two were about to weld a part of the tanker at 8:15 in the morning when the explosion took place. Retired colonel Alexis Fermin, owner of the gas station-mechanic shop, said that apparently safety regulations were not observed. He said before performing any work on a tanker, an hour and a half has to be waited for the fumes to leave the area. Head of the Firemen of Santo Domingo, General Luis Coss Garrido said the explosion occurred because the truck was not totally empty. The explosion distributed body parts and parts of the trucks in the whereabouts, and the blast affected nearby buildings, breaking glass of a dental school located nearby. Despite the explosion, there was no fire. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce ordered the shop closed.
