San Cristóbal: Public Prosecutor’s Office has evidence against “perpetrators” of explosion

The prosecutor expressed that they are investigating people for the catastrophe, which according to her data, left 31 dead; the mayor would initiate parking in the tragedy zone and denies problems.

The prosecutor of San Cristóbal, Fadulia Rosa Rubio, informed that they have people under investigation, whose number she did not provide, and evidence that with their actions, “they caused the death of 31 people” and caused millionaire losses during Monday’s explosion.

She assured that they have proof that in March at Vidal Plast, the company where the fire occurred, there was a fire caused by the contact between sparks and a chemical, and those responsible did not take any measures, despite knowing the high risk of their operations.

Meanwhile, the mayor, José Montás, revealed that there were 17 empty commercial premises owned by the municipality in the area of the tragedy.

While the cleaning of debris continues, the investigation is under the charge of the J2 of the Ministry of Defense, Dicrim of the Police, and the technical unit of the Fire Department.

Montás trusts that the authorities will deepen the investigations until everything is clear and denies any resistance to leaving the premises of the burned people.

He specified that he had reached a consensus with the occupants of the premises so that they would leave because a municipal parking lot was being built in the space. For that reason, only one had not vacated but was in the preparations to do so.

“Nobody resisted leaving because we had signed an agreement based on the fact that when we built the parking lot, they would have the opportunity to return to their activities,” he explained.

He said he was unaware that there was a plastics factory on the site, as has been said, but rather a warehouse for these materials, so perhaps someone was using the space to deposit merchandise.

Immediate action
Omar de León, director of the Council for the Strategic Plan of San Cristóbal, headed a large commission that surveyed the commercial establishments, churches, and houses affected by the explosion yesterday.

He emphasized that they are already intervening in the most damaged establishments and houses, such as those with glass panes destroyed by the tragedy.

They are coordinating with the Ministry of Housing and Buildings to repair the houses of the families affected near the area and who suffered the most.

De León, accompanied by a technical team, had 60 commercial premises and 12 houses in his portfolio after the survey, which began to be intervened immediately.

One of the affected churches was that of the Ministry of Healing, and Liberation Jesus is King, on Padre Ayala and Jesus de Galindez streets.

Marian Franjul, a pastor, narrated that the building suffered considerable damage, but they were still praying for San Cristobal while they had some food for those working on rescue operations.

Assistance continues
The Ministry of Public Health and the Dominican College of Psychologists continue to support the victims’ families.

The Ministry informed that of the 59 injured reported since the beginning of the emergency, only four people remain in clinics and hospitals in wards, three in ICU, and five in the burns unit.

In addition, 154 people were treated in hospitals for different causes, and 142 were discharged.
There have been 689 house-to-house interventions in the active search for respiratory diseases and immunization and 267 psychosocial interventions. The mobile hospital provided care to 493 people.

The EOC reported that the removal of debris, the intervention of the Ministry of the Environment for the disposal of debris, air quality measurements, and decontamination of surrounding waste continue.