Update this note for the latest on the Villa Biarritz explosion
An explosion in a building located in front of the Villa Biarritz Park affected apartments in the area around 9:00 this Friday. Several people were injured, two of them seriously, and were taken to care centers.
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17:28 The mayor of Montevideo, Carolina Cosse, tells The Observer that a diagnosis of the structure of the building was made, in addition to “deep cleaning work”. He adds: “Tomorrow there will be much more meticulous work due to the broken glass on the lawn.” The hierarch added that the administration assigned 150 people between cleaning, traffic, emergency and structure personnel.
16:49 In several apartments adjoining the building where the explosion occurred, the windows began to be covered.
15:51 The ground vibration was greater than two local magnitudeon a scale from zero to ten, informs The Observer the geologist Leda Sánchez.
15:14 “The first thing I managed to do was go to the living room, get away from the explosion, meet my parents”, reported an affected.
15:11 The “strange smell”, armchairs on the sidewalk and pillows in trees: chronicle of an explosion in Villa Biarritz.
13:28 The elderly couple who was in the apartment where the focus of the explosion occurred is being treated in the intensive care unit of the British Hospital. The 88-year-old man is the one who received the greatest impact: he has a 30% of the body with second degree burns and several broken bones from falling debris. His wife, on the other hand, is more stable and the doctors are evaluating transferring her to the Burn Center (Cenaque).
12:30 The mayor of Montevideo, Carolina Cosse, affirmed that “nobody can enter the building” of Villa Biarritz where the explosion that affected the area occurred, at a press conference held at the scene. Cosse clarified that “no problem” to enter the buildings located on the side but only to remove things and go back out.
The mayor explained that only “those who are going to work in the building will enter”, who are “engineers in charge of the co-ownership” of the enclosure.
This people they will have a “strategy outlined” by a “structuralist” invited by the Municipality of Montevideo to work on the scene.
The Director of Firefighters, Ricardo Riaño, indicated in a press conference that the second and third floors of the main building have “slabs detached from the main beams”, and did not rule out that there is a danger of collapse on those floors.
He added that some buildings located in the part behind this installation suffered “some structural collapses of the facade”and for several blocks around there was “glass breakage”.
“We are going to maintain the fence for several days,” Cosse announced, adding that the Intendancy’s cleaning teams were preparing to clean the entire area and Plaza Villa Biarritz, located in front of the building.
11:52 Mayor Carolina Cosse is also on the scene. “I don’t know if the person who smelled gas on the 7th floor even gave him the time to make a phone call. It’s a terrible exceptional situation,” said the mayor, adding that “the structure is badly damaged.”
11:50 The Ministry of the Interior is going to increase security in the area because several buildings were left unguarded by the explosion and the Villa Biarritz fair is suspended.
11:42 A spokesman for Firefighters speaks from the place and the Minister of the Interior, Luis Alberto Heber.
One of the injured has 80% of his body burned while the other two have 40%. These are the people who lived in the place where the explosion occurred, between the second and third floors. The Ministry of the Interior confirmed that there are no missing persons.
11:36 The Ministry of the Interior shared a video of the affected buildings recorded from a helicopter.
11:11 journalists from The Observer report from the place
11:00 The Municipality of Montevideo asks not to circulate around the place.
Due to the event that occurred in a building in Villa Biarritz there are traffic cuts in the area:
? Montero from Ellauri
? Access streets to Villa Biarritz Park
? September 21 and Ellauri (in the direction of the boulevard)
⚠️ We urge you not to circulate in the area.
10:57 From the Ministry of the Interior they reported that there are three seriously injured. All due to airway damage.
10:39 The Ministry of the Interior reported that after 9 AM it received a call to the 9.1.1 Emergency service. reporting that in “Leyenda Patria e Hidalgos there had been an explosion, so firefighters, police officers and medical emergencies were sent to the scene.” Upon arrival, they confirmed what was reported and found a building that was on fire.
“Firefighters evacuated the building and the surrounding area to preserve the physical integrity of the people,” adds the Ministry of the Interior.
10:32 “I was putting together a mate and I felt an impressive noise”: the testimony of a person injured in the Villa Biarritz explosion.
10:31 “The glass exploded in our faces. We are left without an apartment, we don’t know until when. Luckily we are fine”, commented a neighbor who lives in one of the buildings on Montero street affected by the shock wave of the explosion.
10:28 In the following video people are seen inside the building after the explosion. You can even see a woman with a baby.
Punta Carretas, Montevideo Uruguay pic.twitter.com/kTXgHCMNBE
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10:10 Firefighters reported two seriously injured at this time. “Two elderly people, a man and a woman, with significant burns and airway compromise,” said a Fire Department spokesman on Channel 12. There is no structural compromise of the building. In total there are seven wounded
10:00 Dozens of apartments were affected by the explosion and subsequent fire. On this note you can see the interior of an apartment.
9 o’clock There was an explosion in a building located in front of the Villa Biarritz Park.
There are at least three affected buildings and glass everywhere on the street, as he was able to verify The Observer in the zone. “Apparently an environment explosion and a fire in a building in Montero and Guipúzcoa. Residents are being evacuated,” Firefighters reported.
The park is full of glass and debris that flew from the building as seen in the following photo.
Matthew Piaggio
Police and ambulances are already on the scene. Witnesses say they heard an explosion but it is still undetermined what it was that exploded.
There were buildings located a block from where the explosion was recorded in which the glass was broken.
Firefighters were working on the spot. There are several people injured. Several were transferred to different emergencies.
In the Biguá club located in the area, glass was broken and the explosion was felt from several points in Montevideo.
