One person died, more than 30 people sustained injuries, and two remain missing following a massive gas explosion in Remedios de Escalada on Friday morning, according to La Nación.
The explosion occurred at the intersection of Coronel Beltrán and Del Valle Iberlucea after a machine accidentally punctured a medium-pressure distribution pipe. The rupture triggered a towering column of fire that destroyed several commercial properties, including a local delicatessen, leaving surrounding vehicles charred and structural debris scattered across the asphalt.
Municipal authorities confirmed that over 20 fire brigades, alongside provincial police, Red Cross personnel, and Civil Defense teams, rushed to the dense commercial zone of the southern Buenos Aires metropolitan area.
Search and rescue operations remain active for two missing individuals. Families have identified one of the missing workers as Marcelo García, an employee of the utility distributor Metrogas who was working at the site when the disaster unfolded.
Claudio Arale, the director of Civil Defense for Lanús, said that municipal officials identified potential breaches in emergency protocols by the private contractors and utility representatives on site. According to Arale, workers punctured the pipe but opted to notify Metrogas directly rather than immediately alerting local emergency services.
“Un empresa tercerizada estaba realizando un trabajo con una tuneladora, rompieron un caño y en vez de alertar, llamaron a Metrogas. Metrogas mandó una cuadrilla y cuando llegó personal de seguridad, les informaron que tenían todo bajo control. Recién cuando se produjo la explosión se activaron los protocolos de emergencia.”
said Claudio Arale, director of Civil Defense for Lanús, as reported by infobae.
Judicial sources indicated that two corporate directors from Metrogas were transported to the Avellaneda-Lanús General Prosecutor’s Office for identification purposes. Meanwhile, utility crews worked through the afternoon to clamp the damaged lines and execute four separate network shutdowns to starve the active flames.
Residents living within a 100-meter radius reported smelling gas in the air for days before the catastrophic ignition shook the neighborhood. An evacuation center was established at Club Talleres de Remedios de Escalada to shelter displaced families and local workers.
Carla, the 22-year-old daughter of 55-year-old trench worker Germán Cisneros, recounted the agonizing wait outside the hospital doors after her father sustained critical injuries on the job. Clarín reported that Cisneros, a veteran utility worker, had left his home in González Catán early Friday morning to service the network expansion project.
“Se fue caminando mi papá. Pero después me dieron su celular, sus cosas y es él.”
said Carla, as quoted by Clarín.
