Page Seven Digital
(Updated with Mayor’s report)
This Thursday afternoon, the slide of a slope on a property under construction alarmed the residents of Calle 15 de Calacoto and Avenida Costanera, in the southern area of La Paz. According to the preliminary report, three workers were buried by the earth; Volunteer firefighters and the Police arrived at the scene and have managed to rescue one and are looking for the other pair.
“It’s a tragedy, I’m dismayed,” lamented the mayor of La Paz, Iván Arias, in an interview with the Unitel network. The municipal authority reported that the rescued worker, whose name is Angel, is torn between life and death.
“We are dismayed right now, saving with the action of the firefighters and the GAE group of the Mayor’s Office. It is impressive how much land has fallen, we are saving a young man. This is the situation when neighboring municipalities authorize these constructions. The construction was prohibited by us in the rainy season, they kept putting it in and there is the consequence of two people buried, one of us we are saving with firefighters and the GAE group,” said the mayor.
The authority announced proceedings against the construction company due to the tragedy.
In this context, he revealed that the work has the permission of Palca, the neighboring municipality of the seat of government.
For his part, the Municipal Secretary of Risks, Juan Pablo Palma, regretted that the Municipal Government of Palca authorizes construction permits in a jurisdiction that does not correspond to them and that they do not verify whether the companies to which they grant these guarantees assume the appropriate measures to avoid these tragedies.
“We urge the neighboring municipal governments not to act irresponsibly, beyond the jurisdiction, we are absolutely convinced that this is the jurisdiction of the municipality of La Paz, they cannot give authorization left and right, without at least seeing that the corresponding work and control measures are in place,” he said.
According to the preliminary report, the firefighters found one of the workers injured, who had half his body buried, and it is known that the other two missing workers are underground.
The search with rescue dogs was also deployed; however, it is reported that there is a risk that the land will continue to give way.
