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.
//_____________________________________________________//
//_____________________________________________________//
(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.