Key tests will have to wait until at least Monday

The judiciary is awaiting the completion of an expert report to determine the cause. Explosion and fierce fire at industrial center in Ezeiza The accident caused extensive damage to homes in the area and more than 20 people were treated at different hospitals. Experts were not able to visit the scene until this Saturday afternoon, as firefighting efforts continue and could be extended until Monday. Therefore, investigators are not leaning toward any particular hypothesis about the cause of the accident.

Prosecutor Florencia Belloc of Ezeiza’s UFI 1, which relies on the Lomas de Zamora Justice Department, will be in charge of investigating the cause of the fire that spread in parts of the metropolitan area this Friday night. industrial parkan open area outside the Ezeiza and Carlos Spegazzini parks, on the side of the Buenos Aires-Cañuelas highway.

The incident began with an explosion at a Logischem warehouse. a large fire broke out. The fire spread and reached various buildings of other companies located in the area: Iron Mountain, Larocca Minera, Almacen de Julio, Aditivos Alimentarios, and Sinteplast.

According to a judicial source, clarion Prosecutors said they ordered the necessary expert reports to be conducted by officials from the fire department and the Buenos Aires Scientific Police.

Meanwhile, Fabian García, director of civil defense for the province of Buenos Aires, said that around 500 people were working to put out the fire this Saturday, pointing out that: The surgery could last another 48 hours. The key investigation into the cause of the disaster would not begin until much later.

He clarified that “we are not facing a toxic cloud or smoke that poses a danger to civil society,” but warned that “there are particles in the air, but they are so small that we cannot see them, so if we continue to be exposed there could be consequences.”

as far as he knows clarionmore 900 people They rotated in different shifts. They also Approximately 70 members of the fire brigade.

Federal police and Buenos Aires police mobile phones were deployed at the scene. Ambulances from SAME in the province of Buenos Aires, representatives of the Red Cross and social services of the Buenos Aires Ministry of Security.

Roberto Weiss, president of the Ezeiza Industrial Union, visited the scene of the fire this Saturday morning and explained: clarion Scenarios you encountered: “It was a Dantesque fire, unlike anything I had ever seen before.”

“The fire started in a chemical warehouse in Logischem. That was the source of the fire. The fire then crossed and destroyed the Iron Mountain company. Not only sheets and structures were blown off, but two other companies were also set on fire,” he said.

The industrial park is an open manufacturing area located on the Ezeiza-Cañuelas highway collector, entered from Tucuman Street. Companies are criss-crossing on one side and the other. Logischem was about 400 meters from the entrance.

clarion He approached the site this Saturday, but the effects of ominous proportions were still in the air. Breathing was difficult, his eyes and throat stung, and the air was thin with a translucent curtain of smoke.

both right and left The damage was countless.. Exposed steel, piles of rubble, collapsed roofs and missing walls were seen, as well as twisted plastic found more than 200 meters away.

“The explosion occurred in Shakes even the windows and floors. “My father thought it was a plane exploding, but when he went outside and saw smoke coming out, he realized it was a chemical factory,” said Claudio, who lives in the neighborhood closest to the scene.

“At first all the neighbors came out and the firefighters asked us to stay in the house. They also told us to close the doors and windows. After a while, fire debris started falling into the garden,” he said.

Carlos Spegazzini’s neighbors were among the first to directly feel the shock waves coming from the industrial center of Ezeiza, which surprised them and initially caused great fear as they had never experienced anything like this before.

“At first I thought it was a stone because the whole top part of the window exploded, but when I went out to the sidewalk and looked at my neighbors, I heard a loud explosion and realized it was something else,” said Martin, who was working as a butcher at the time of the incident.

Spegazzini’s other neighbor, Lyudmila, was the first to speak. I felt a wave of intense heatafter arriving unexpectedly, an explosion was heard. “I thought it was a nearby place selling bottles. I didn’t imagine it was that far away,” he added.

Franco Armani was among those affected by the fire. River’s goalkeeper lives nearby and his home was damaged. This Saturday, he issued a statement saying that he and his family were not present when the incident occurred. The Armani family said: “We only regret the material damage. Thankfully there was only one person in the house unharmed. It was a complicated night, but we are trying to deal with the situation in the best way possible.”

One of the companies affected by the fire is Iron Mountain, an American company that specializes in managing files for other companies. The company was left in the middle of the storm after another fire broke out at its warehouse in Barracas, with tragic consequences.

On the morning of February 5, 2014, a fire broke out at Azara 1245 and spread, causing the metal structure supporting the roof to collapse due to high temperatures. This resulted in the collapse of a wall on Jobelanos Street, killing eight firefighters and two Civilian Defense Directorate personnel.

Inspector General Leonard Day was killed during the fire. Deputy Inspector Anai Garnica. Corporal Carlos Veliz, Corporal Eduardo Adrian Conesa, and Corporal Maximiliano Martinez. Juan Matias Monticelli, agent of the Federal Police Fire Department No. 1.

Volunteer firefighters Sebastian Ezequiel Campos and Facundo Ricardo Ambrosi (Vuelta de Rocha Barracks) were also killed. and civil defense rescue workers Pedro Esteban Baricola and Jose Méndez Araujo.

Tests carried out by the Federal Police Compensation Division and the National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI) determined that the fire was intentional, as multiple ignition sources were present simultaneously and traces of flammable materials used to fuel the fire were detected.

On April 12, 2023, a judge gave an oral hearing to 18 people involved in the incident, including the Iron Mountain security guard who was on duty at the time of the fire, as well as a company director and a former official of the Buenos Aires Government Inspectorate General.

Twelve days after this judicial decision, a second fire broke out at the same Barracas property, causing two walls to also collapse. It is not yet confirmed when the oral trial will take place.