Sunday Marked 20th Anniversary of Deadly Blasts EFE | |
go to original April 23, 2012 |
State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos said a gasoline leak into the sewer system from the La Nogalera industrial zone caused the explosions on the morning of April 22, 1992. (EFE) |
GUADALAJARA, Mexico - Victims and others affected by the explosion of the sewer system on April 22, 1992, in this western Mexican metropolis commemorated the 20th anniversary of the tragedy that killed more than 200 people.
With religious events and a mourning march, relatives and neighbors recalled those who died in the multiple blasts along 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) of streets in the historic Guadalajara neighborhood of Analco.
State-owned Petroleos Mexicanos said a gasoline leak into the sewer system from the La Nogalera industrial zone caused the explosions on the morning of April 22, 1992.
Despite the fact that on the day prior to the blasts local residents had reported the strong smell of gasoline emanating from the sewer system, city authorities determined that there was no risk of an explosion in the area and so no evacuations were carried out.
Thousands of residents of Analco were injured and suffered damage to their homes and businesses, and the bodies of the dead were transported to an improvised morgue at a sports center to be identified by relatives.
Although a definitive death toll of 210 was released by the Jalisco state government, survivors of the blasts calculate that more than 1,000 people could have lost their lives on that morning, according to the leader of the AC April 22 Committee, Lilia Ruiz Chavez.
Ruiz Chavez said that many victims were never identified because the federal government decided to remove the rubble from collapsed buildings with heavy machinery without recovering all the bodies underneath.
Several groups of citizens commemorated the 20th anniversary of the tragedy with a silent march moving to each of the 10 points where the blasts occurred, and they also dyed the water red in some of the most important fountains in the city in memory of the victims.
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