Accoridng to residents of the Nuevo Horizonte community in La Cienaga, Santo Domingo Oeste, the supposed Cerantra recycling plant was no such thing, but rather a clandestine fuel sales point located in a residential area in order to avoid being detected by the authorities. On Monday, two persons died after an explosion at the site on Monday, 14 January 2019. A third person died on Wednesday, 16 January 2019, but he has not been named.
“That’s not a fuel recycler, they take diesel fuel there and sell it without the authorities knowing,” said Luis Rodríguez, resident of that community. While Isidro Gómez, also a resident, told Listin Diario reporters that the center has been operating for a long time. He doubted it was a recycling plant. “That has always had a smell of diesel, like it was a gas station. Also many trucks enter and leave there, I really do not know why that it exploded, what I do know is that I felt that and I shook … “, said Gomez.
The neighbors said they had not been visited by the firemen, nor had the owners of the business come forward. The neighbors say on repeated occasions they had protested the operation of the business but received no response from the Ministry of Environment.
Listin Diario reports that five large red cylinders with “Fuel Oil” signs on them are still intact and hidden behind a nearly impassable road in the Nuevo Horizonte community of La Ciénaga sector, in Santo Domingo Oeste, where the explosion occurred.
Preliminary, the authorities of the Cuerpo Especializado de Control de Combustibles (Ceccom) said the explosion occurred when employees of the company were testing a boiler and it overheated beyond control.
In the tragedy, 32-year old Juan Manuel Garcia and 48-year old Francisco Suero died. Four others were said to be seriously injured and are hospitalized at the Hospital Ney Arias Lora.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
El Nacional
17 January 2019
