3 dead after gas explosion hits maternity hospital
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 29 January, 2015, 11:13pm
UPDATED : Friday, 30 January, 2015, 1:29am
Associated Press in Mexico City
The aftermath of a freak explosion that blew out part of the Grand Riviera Princess resort hotel in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on Sunday, killing seven people. Photo: Reuters
A powerful gas tank truck explosion shattered a maternity and children's hospital in Mexico City yesterday, killing at least three people and injuring dozens.
Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera told Milenio television that three were killed, a woman and two men.
He earlier told the Televisa network that at least 54 people were injured, 22 of them children. Most of the injuries were relatively minor, he said, many caused by flying glass.
Fausto Lugo, the city's civil defence director, said 37 people were transported to other hospitals and he said other people were likely still buried in the rubble. The explosion sent a column of smoke billowing over the area on the western edge of Mexico's capital and television images showed much of the hospital collapsed, with firefighters trying to extinguish fires. Mancera said the heaviest damage was near the hospital's loading dock.
Mancera said the blast apparently was caused by a leak in the hose carrying gas from the truck to the hospital, which is operated by the city.
Rescue workers are seen at the site of an explosion at a maternity hospital in Mexico City. Photo: Reuters
"There was a super explosion and everything caught on fire," said Ismael Garcia, 27, who lives a block from the hospital.
Garcia ran toward the hospital where the truck had exploded and was told it had been connecting to the kitchen when the explosion occurred.
Garcia and others entered the hospital and made their way to the nursery. "Fortunately, we were able to get eight babies out," he said.
The scene at the hospital was chaotic, with streets clogged by traffic, fire trucks and ambulances. Rescuers emerged from the ruins covered in dust and ash.
Milenio television reported that a pregnant woman who was removed from the ruins gave birth in the ambulance that was taking her to another facility.
"The situation is delicate," said local official Adrian Ruvalcaba. "We have a lot of injuries, many children trapped in the ruins."
According to a government website, the hospital was founded in 1993 and counts 35 beds. It is located in a densely populated lower middle class neighbourhood next to a school.
Additional reporting by Tribune News Service
