Havana/Julio César Guerrero Batista, father of recruit José Carlos Guerrero García, 19 years old, one of the 13 killed by the explosions in a war ammunition warehouse in the town of Melones, on January 7, he reported on social networks that the authorities “never began the search (for the bodies) and much less the investigations at the site of the explosion.”
In his message he explained that in the report that an officer of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR) gave him every day at his home, they informed him that “the search and investigation could not begin because ammunition and ammunition continued to be detonated at the site of the explosion. “rescuers, investigators and experts could not be put at risk.”
He added that, to date, “the victims’ families have not been given a detailed explanation of what happened.”
Authorities said in their report that an “electrical failure caused by a short circuit inside the facility”
His complaint concluded with the demand that the bodies of his son and the others be found, while asking “what are they going to do with the military material left in the place?”
Last Wednesday, eight days after the fires, the FAR Ministry finally offered a official position and declared dead the 13 soldiers who were initially reported as “disappeared” due to the incident.
The authorities said in their report that an “electrical failure caused by a short circuit inside the facility” caused the accident and justified that they had not been able to “reach the place where the 13 colleagues who heroically faced the incident with the objective of preventing its spread”, due to the “extreme complexity” in the terrain, due to the “effects of accumulated gases and the severe damage caused, as well as the real danger of landslides.”
He added that the area was “inaccessible” and, “consequently, there is no possibility of life in the place.” With that message, they suggested that it might not be possible to recover the bodies.
Hours before the official announcement from the authorities, 14ymedio reported that a relative of the soldiers – who requested anonymity because they have been prohibited from speaking to the media or even publish on networks–, reported that they were used drones to “measure the temperature from the air” and determine if ground zero, where the explosions occurred, could be accessed.
The area was “inaccessible” and, “consequently, there is no possibility of life in the place”
The message they gave to the relatives said that it was not safe to “send human beings because there are parts that are still hot.” However, neighbors had already early that “in the town there are fears that the missing persons may have been pulverized, although hope of finding them alive has not been lost.”
In its report, the ministry did not clarify exactly how many explosions occurred, although, one day after the incident, a resident of Melones told this medium that “explosions continued to be heard during the night and they have told us that they could continue for up to four days or further”.
The damage covered a large portion of the land. A satellite image shared by journalist Mario Pentón, before and after the accident at the Holguín military base, shows the transformation of the area, in which the green of the vegetation became a large yellowish stain.
A satellite image shows the transformation of the area, in which the green vegetation became a large yellowish stain
Regarding the reactions of the national leaders, there was only one tweet from Miguel Díaz-Canel, in which he “deeply” regretted the incident and promised to investigate the causes.
In addition to José Carlos Guerrero, other recruits of the mandatory military service who died for the explosions were Leinier Jorge Sánchez (only 18 years old, and son of the secretary of the president of the Municipal Assembly of People’s Power of Rafael Freyre, Alexis Driggs Gómez, Gretel María Franco), Liander José García Oliva, Brian Lázaro Rojas Long, Yunior Hernández Rojas, Rayme Rojas Rojas, José Carlos Guerrero García, Frank Antonio Hidalgo Almaguer, Carlos Alejandro Acosta Silva and Héctor Adrián Batista Zayas, in addition to four officers: Carlos Carreño, Orlebanis Tamé Torres, Yoennis Pérez Durán and Leonar Palma Matos.
