A propane gas station in Los Rios in Santo Domingo West exploded early Tuesday morning, 16 February 2016, injuring least 40 people, some seriously and causing major destruction.
National District Fire Chief, Oscar Guillermo Garcia, said that the emergency call came shortly before 6am. Reportedly, the explosion was heard several kilometers away from the site of the Sol LPG station in the Azul neighborhood on the Sol Poniente Avenue in Los Rios in the National District.
Several houses, some two stories high were totally gutted as well as the gas station itself.
All of the Santo Domingo fire units fought the blaze.
Firefighters and rescuers, including search and rescue dogs, searched for hours for people trapped under the rubble and could hear their screams.
Many of the injured suffered burns and a pregnant woman was hurt after falling while running away from the blaze. They were all taken to the Ney Arias Lora Hospital.
Those in intensive care are 63-year old Feliz Vinicio Morel, who has a poor prognosis with 60% of his body burned, 28-year old Dennys Alvarez with 40% burns, Marina Alvarez, 52 with 40% burns, 40-year old Eddy D Oleo with 40% burns, Elvin Alfredo, 30 with 40% burns and Ramon Antonio Lugo, 25, with 32% of his body burned.
Also admitted to the hospital were Altagracia Jimenez, Ramon Antonio Pozo, and 53-year old Hilda Delgado along with 49-year old Altagracia Ortega, 52-year old Yilda del Carmen and 29-year old Altagracia Beriguete Ortega. Another three patients were treated for minor injuries and released.
Firefighters managed to remove some of the remaining gas tanks by truck. Fire chief Oscar Guillermo Garcia confirmed that the fire was caused by a gas leak. Investigators initially speculated that a spark from a domestic stove or a vehicle could have ignited the gas from the station. He confirmed that the fire had been brought under control and said that they had managed to prevent it from spreading to a third tank with 13,000 gallons of propane gas.
When the two 25,000 and 10,000-gallon gas tanks exploded, the blast destroyed the surrounding buildings.
The executive director of the Dominican Association of Liquid Petroleum Gas Distributors, Guillermo Cochon confirmed that the gas station had all of its legal permits and was complying with the established safety and security requirements.
El Dia reports that more people were not injured because local residents Camilo Torres, Carlos Olivares and Arcadio Garcia noticed the smoke that enveloped the area and evacuated their families in time. Torres said that a neighbor who works as a taxi driver called him early that morning to alert him. Their apartments collapsed. Another major factor in ensuring the relatively low victim count was the SolGas watchman who alerted people to evacuate.
President Danilo Medina issued a statement saying that his heart was with the victims and expressing his hope for their swift recovery.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/sucesos/bomberos-una-fuga-produjo-la-explosion-en-estacion-de-glp-en-los-rios-FF2755272
http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2016/02/16/408038/identifican-a-los-heridos-en-incendio-un-hombre-de-66-anos-tiene-el-70-del-cuerpo-quemado
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/sucesos/bomberos-una-fuga-produjo-la-explosion-en-estacion-de-glp-en-los-rios-FF2755272
Identifican 11 de los quemados en explosión de planta de gas; 6 están en Cuidados Intensivos
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=465221
