Twenty people sustained injuries, including five with severe burns, following a powerful gas pipeline explosion during repair work in Remedios de Escalada.
The blast occurred at approximately 9:44 a.m. at the intersection of Coronel Beltrán and Del Valle Iberlucea in the Lanús district, according to infobae. Emergency services responded after a machine operated by a subcontractor working for Metrogas struck a medium-pressure distribution pipe in a busy commercial area.
Claudio Arale, director of Civil Defense for Lanús, said that the municipal monitoring center received an initial alert regarding a gas leak that immediately preceded the detonation. Personnel from Metrogas and the subcontracted firm Exgadet were active at the site alongside five primary utility workers.
Emergency medical triage coordinated patient transfers across local facilities. Five individuals with critical burn injuries were admitted to the Hospital Interzonal de Agudos Evita de Lanús, while fifteen others with lesser trauma went to the municipal Máspero clinic and the neighborhood hospital.
Volunteer fire companies from Lanús Oeste, Lanús, Avellaneda, Sarandí, Dock Sud, Villa Domínico, Wilde, and Echenagucía deployed to the scene. Firefighters maintained a controlled burn of the escaping gas to prevent hazardous accumulation in the surrounding airspace.
La Nación reported that municipal authorities evacuated nearby residences and commercial properties within a 100-meter radius as a precaution. UFI No. 6 took jurisdiction over the case to investigate liability and operational circumstances.
By early afternoon, utility technicians clamped one end of the damaged conduit while digging auxiliary extraction pits to halt the remaining flow. Civil Defense teams awaited complete isolation of the supply lines before entering adjacent structures to evaluate structural integrity and damage.
