Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
Video Credit: CEN
This is the moment a lorry transporting gas explodes after hitting a pothole leaving more than 50 people injured and six dead.
The explosion that caused a huge fireball took place after the lorry suffered damage whilst being driven over a huge pothole in the district of Villa El Salvador in the Peruvian capital Lima.
The pothole reportedly damaged the tanker and caused a gas leak, as can be seen in the images.
The driver of the lorry named as Luis Guzman Palomino, 72, tried to stop the leak but failed and the gas ignited into a huge fireball.
Six people reportedly died as a result of the explosion, with an unnamed man who is said to have been trying to start his vehicle near the lorry among those that died at the scene.
Video Credit: CEN/@brittanycristobal
The other five victims died in hospital and were identified as an unnamed nine-year-old girl, another unnamed 13-year-old, plus Juan Orlando Valladolid Loayza, 50, Maria Ambrosio Navarrete, 42, Geraldine Riveros Osorio, 18, and Meza Llamoca Isidora, 61.
The nine-year-old girl died in hospital due to respiratory arrest caused by the burn injuries she suffered in the fire.
Ricardo Zopfi, the Director of the local Health Institute, told local media “We tried to reanimate her. She was only a girl. Despite the efforts, she did not survive.”
Video Credit: CEN
Driver Palomino reportedly fled the scene but later went to a police station where he was arrested and taken to the Villa El Salvador Hospital as he was suffering from smoke inhalation. He will be investigated for his role in the accident.
The explosion caused damage to nearby houses and the Health Ministry confirmed that the injured 50 were taken to eight different hospitals in Lima.
Zopfi said eight children were seriously injured with burns in the blast, among them a 10-month-baby who underwent urgent surgery. All of the children suffered second and third-degree burns.
Firefighters managed to control the blaze after working for three hours.
According to the authorities, prosecutor Milagros Milla Palomino and an expert from the Legal Medicine Institute went to the accident scene to start the investigation.
Juan Garate, Head of the police in Villa El Salvador, told local newspaper RPP that the vehicle belongs to the company Transgas, which was closed by the municipal authorities hours later.
Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra expressed his condolences and said the causes of the accident will be investigated.
The National Police have restricted access to the area in a two-block radius. One unnamed victim told local media “it was all a nightmare”.
The investigation is ongoing.
The ViralTab page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.
