A gas explosion occurred Friday morning in a building located in the Paseos de Taxqueña neighborhood of the Coyoacán borough, prompting a response from Mexico City emergency services. The incident left five people injured, two of them seriously, who were transported to the Rehabilitation Hospital.
The explosion occurred around 8:55 a.m. at the corner of Paseo de los Naranjos and Paseo de los Cipreses, on the third floor of a 24-unit apartment building with a ground floor and five upper floors.
Police officers from the Culhuacán sector of the Secretariat of Citizen Security (SSC), along with Red Cross personnel, members of the Emergency Rescue and Medical Services Squadron (ERUM), and firefighters from the Mexico City Fire Department, immediately arrived at the scene to address the incident and assess the building’s condition following the explosion.
“We are responding to a gas explosion in an apartment located in Paseos de Taxqueña, Coyoacán borough. The blast wave damaged seven buildings. 2,500 people were evacuated from 280 apartments to avoid further risks. Currently, three apartments have sustained structural damage,” reported Juan Manuel Pérez Cova, head of the Mexico City Fire Department, on his social media accounts, regarding the initial reports.
He added that they were assisting the owners of the affected apartments so they could retrieve some belongings, while maintaining all necessary precautions.
The moment of the explosion was captured by cameras from the Mexico City Command, Control, Computing, Communications and Citizen Contact Center (C5).
“Following a report of an explosion in the Paseos de Taxqueña neighborhood of Coyoacán, the C5 (Command, Control, Communications, Computing, and Intelligence Center) reviewed the video footage from cameras in the area. Through this analysis, we established a monitoring perimeter and immediately coordinated with Civil Protection and the SSC (Secretariat of Citizen Security),” posted Salvador Guerrero Chiprés, director of the C5.
“It sounded horrible because it was just a block from my house. Look at the building across the street; there was also damage to the windows, and some shards fell all the way here,” commented an astonished neighbor.
From a median strip on Paseo de los Jardines Avenue, some residents of the damaged homes gathered. The fear and worry were visible on their faces.
People could also be seen in the surrounding areas with their dogs, cats, birds, and even reptiles and rodents, all of which were brought to safety.
The shockwave shattered windows and gates in 10 buildings adjacent to the blast, causing residents to flee their homes in terror.
“We heard a deafening noise and even thought there had been an earthquake, because we heard screams coming from the buildings on this side. As you can see, the building where the explosion came from is badly damaged, and some windows in our apartment were broken,” Claudia explained.
Myriam Urzúa, Secretary of Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection, confirmed that five people were injured. Two of them are in serious condition with burns covering 80 percent of their bodies and were transferred to the National Institute of Rehabilitation. The other three were treated at the scene.
A large perimeter was established by members of the Zorros Group of the SSC (Secretariat of Citizen Security). Later, soldiers from the Mexican Army joined the emergency response.
In addition, the Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue (USAR) Team from the Secretariat of the Navy arrived to shore up the building where the explosion occurred and any other buildings that required it.
Meanwhile, personnel from the General Coordination of Forensic Investigation and Expert Services of the Attorney General’s Office of Juárez (FGJ) arrived at the scene to conduct the necessary procedures.
Miryam Urzúa, head of the Secretariat of Comprehensive Risk Management and Civil Protection (SGIRPC), spoke with the affected residents after the explosion and offered them all necessary support to temporarily relocate them to a shelter. Later, the Housing Institute (Invi) will explore offering them affordable rental apartments.
The Mexico City official announced that the number of evacuees had risen to more than 2,000 people and that the 10 buildings adjacent to the site of the explosion would be assessed. As risks are ruled out, these families would be able to return to their homes.
“The third floor currently has problems with the slab, columns, and beams, and they are shoring it up. In addition, there were problems with the shockwave in all the apartments around this location,” the secretary added.
Those affected will initially be taken to Parque de las Montañas, where a tent will be set up for their comfort, along with a Command Post to keep them informed.
Source: oem
