Thursday, January 29, 2015

AT LEAST 2 DEAD AND DOZENS INJURED IN MEXICO CITY PROPANE GAS EXPLOSION AT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL. THE EXPLOSION HAPPENED AFTER A GAS HOSE BROKE AND GAS LEAKED OUT OF A FUEL TRUCK DURING A DELIVERY TO THE HOSPITAL'S KITCHEN



  AT LEAST 2 DEAD AND DOZENS INJURED IN MEXICO CITY PROPANE GAS EXPLOSION AT CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL.  THE EXPLOSION HAPPENED AFTER A GAS HOSE BROKE AND GAS LEAKED OUT OF A FUEL TRUCK DURING A DELIVERY TO THE HOSPITAL'S KITCHEN



Jan 29, 2015, 2:14 PM ET

A gas truck exploded on Thursday and leveled part of a maternity and children's hospital in Mexico City. A city official told MSNBC that at least seven people were killed, including four children. 

The explosion happened after gas leaked out of a fuel truck during a delivery to the hospital's kitchen, the AP reported. 

"The hose broke. The two gas workers tried to stop it, but they were very nervous. They yelled for people to get out," said Laura Diaz Pacheco, a laboratory technician, according to the AP. 

"Everyone's initial reaction was to go inside, away from the gas," she added. "Maybe as many as 10 of us were able to get out ... The rest stayed inside."
An evacuation of the hospital began amid calls for firefighters when the explosion occurred, witnesses said, according to the AP.
The Associated Press, quoting city officials, reported that 54 people, including 22 children were hurt. 


"There's more people inside, under the bricks," said the city official, Jose Martinez, a spokesman for the mayor. 

Pablo Armando Reyes Olivares, who owns a locksmith shop nearby, told NBC News that he and others saw four dead newborns amid the rubble. He said that he helped remove eight newborns who survived, two women who survived and one man who was killed.
"There were moms who had recently given birth who were asking for their newborns," he said. "We are all destroyed." 

Ioan Grillo, a correspondent for Global Post, described a scene of "complete chaos outside the hospital right now" — a crush of rescue crews, soldiers, police, ambulances and distraught relatives of mothers and children inside. 

The mayor told the Televisa network that many of the injured were hit by flying glass. Television images showed much of the structure shattered, with a column of smoke rising, and at least one fire burning in the rubble. A nearby hospital asked for blood donations.
"There was a super explosion, and everything caught on fire," Ismael Garcia, who lives a block away, told the AP. 


President Enrique Peña Nieto said on Twitter that crews were conducting search and rescue. Martinez said that some firefighters were overcome by gas fumes.
"My sadness and solidarity to the injured and to the relatives of those who lost their lives this morning," the president said. 

Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said that the explosion was believed caused by a leak in a hose from the truck, which was fueling the hospital's tanks.
"They tried to stop the leak, but it was not possible," he said, according to Reuters.
Jose Luis Vazquez Sanchez, who lives about 50 yards from the hospital, said the explosion was strong enough to shatter his windows. He said that inside the hospital "there were cribs, newborns, merchandise," and now it's "deshecho," or destroyed. 

The injured were being taken to a hospital, but Garcia said that the area does not have enough ambulances. 

The Mexico City government put out a notice on Twitter that people should avoid the area. Police put barricades around the hospital. 

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(CNN)A gas explosion leveled part of a maternity hospital in Mexico City on Thursday, killing at least two people and injuring dozens more.

Images showed rescuers rushing from the rubble with babies in their arms and paramedics carrying bloodied victims on stretchers.

More than 100 people were in the hospital at the time of the blast, which officials said occurred after a hose burst on a truck supplying gas to the building.
"We started pulling babies from the debris who were alive," Igancio, a volunteer at the scene, told CNN. "We pulled out, fortunately, I think we pulled out seven. We would've wanted to pull out more."


One of the fatalities was a woman, the other a baby, Mexico City Health Secretary Armando Ahued told reporters. At least 66 people were injured, officials said, including about 20 newborns.

Seven babies are in critical condition, he said. Officials initially reported a higher death toll, but later said a mix-up between the number of those deceased and those seriously injured led to an incorrect report.

There are fears that more babies and adults may be trapped in the debris of the hospital, which was on the verge of collapsing after the explosion, said government and emergency officials. 

Frantic family members searched for word of loved ones they feared were inside.
"We heard something, and it smelled so much like gas, really a lot. And then two minutes, three seconds later, we saw an explosion that made everything fly in the air," witness Teresa Ramirez told CNNMexico. "It threw me to the ground." 

Virginia Gonzalez, who lives near the hospital, said her patio was covered with broken glass from blown-out windows.

Investigators are working to determine what caused the blast, officials said.
A truck was supplying gas to the hospital when apparently a hose burst and the resulting leak caused an explosion, Mayor Miguel Angel Mancera said. 

The driver and two assistants delivering the gas to the hospital have been detained, Mancera's office told CNNMexico. Two of the detained workers are hospitalized, and one is receiving other medical care, the office said.

The gas in question is known as liquefied petroleum gas, a mix that could be mostly propane or mostly butane. These propane/butane mixes are commonly used in Mexico for heating, cooking and other fuel applications. 

The Red Cross reported that it provided 23 ambulances and more than 40 rescuers to the efforts. The agency said it transported nine babies to area hospitals.

Many others were being treated for cuts from flying glass after the blast, he said.
The Cuajimalpa Maternal Hospital is on the southwest outskirts of Mexico City. It was founded in 1993 and is part of the city's government health system. 

Photos from the scene show that the gas truck belongs to Gas Express Nieto, a gas provider among the four biggest gas distributors in Mexico, according to the company.
Gas Express did not immediately comment on the explosion. Its Twitter account is private, and its Facebook page appeared to have been taken offline.
One of the city's publicly accessible webcams captured the blast, showing a plume of smoke rising from the direction of the hospital.