Strong explosion in an industrial area south of Buenos Aires

A strong explosion this Friday caused a fire in an industrial park south of Buenos Aires, the Argentine capital, in the municipality of Ezeiza, twelve kilometers from the country’s main airport, authorities and local media reported.

“The explosions and fires that are occurring in the different industries are tremendous,” the mayor of Ezeiza, Gastón Granados, told the local channel C5N. Local television showed images of the smoke resulting from the flames, as well as part of the explosion recorded in this municipality in the province of Buenos Aires.

“The windows in my house and the neighborhood exploded,” Granados himself, who lives about 500 meters from this industrial sector known as the Spegazzini Industrial Estate, told C5N.

“We are evacuating the families who live nearby because it was tremendous,” the mayor reiterated.

Flights diverted

The strong explosion occurred twelve kilometers from the Ministerio Pistarini international airport, the main airport in the South American country, affecting visibility in the area and, according to the local press, causing several injuries.

Numerous flights scheduled to land at the airport were delayed or diverted, and one of the access roads to the airport is blocked.

Granados reported that the flames produced affected several plants in the industrial complex.

“One of them is a chemical plant, where the warehouses caught fire, where there are issues linked to agriculture and fertilization. There is also another plastics plant,” said Granados, who explained that the authorities are trying to “guarantee security in the area.”

Injured by blast wave

For his part, Carlos Santoro, director of the hospital where the injured arrive, told the local channel La Nación + that “the number of patients” they have received “so far is 22.”

According to neighbors and medical sources cited by local media, the majority of the injured treated so far are residents of the area who had minor and moderate injuries, resulting from burns, multiple traumas and the bursting of glass due to the blast wave.

“In relation to the explosion that occurred tonight in the Ezeiza area, the Ministry of Health informs that the provincial and municipal hospitals of the region are working in a network and in an articulated manner, prepared to receive and care for all the people who may have been affected,” reported the Ministry of Health of the province of Buenos Aires.

For its part, the Municipality of Ezeiza reported that “major explosions were recorded” and that “the Cuenca Alta Néstor Kirchner Hospital activated the contingency plan for catastrophe situations and is ready to intervene if necessary, collaborating in a network with the rest of the health centers in the event area.”

“We ask the population to inform themselves through official channels, and if they are in areas where smoke is perceived, protect themselves with masks,” the local government added in a statement.

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