Last
Sunday, 1st August, Paraguay suffered its worst disaster in
decades when at least 364 people died in a massive fire at a
crowded supermarket in a working-class neighbourhood on the
outskirts of the capital, Asunción.
The fire is believed to have started around midday, near the
food court of the Ycua Bolaños centre, which was packed
with hundreds of families doing their regular Sunday shopping.
When people tried to escape they found that the exit doors had
been locked and in one case welded shut, apparently to prevent
shoppers from fleeing without paying. Firefighters found the
main doors shut when they arrived.
Among the dead were entire families. In addition to the 364
who died, the Ministry of Health said 256 people were admitted
to hospital. President Nicanor Duarte declared three days of
national mourning.
The magnitude of the disaster overwhelmed the country’s
capacity to respond. Paraguay does not experience many emergencies,
and hospitals struggled to cope with the influx of wounded and
rescue organizations were unable to coordinate effectively.
The governments of neighbouring countries have sent aid in the
form of medicines, bandages and human resources.
From the first moment, the Paraguayan Red Cross helped to transfer
the injured to hospital and afterwards transported corpses to
a nearby temporary morgue. More than 100 Red Cross volunteers
participated in these actions.
"Despite all the chaos, what has emerged is the great solidarity
of the Paraguayan people, for whom this has been a new experience,
since Paraguay has never before experienced of this magnitude,”
said Huberto Battioni, head of relief of the Paraguayan Red
Cross.
Meanwhile, the Spanish Red Cross has sent a psychological support
team to Paraguay to help the victims and their families through
this tragedy. The Spanish team have had recent experience of
a similar tragedy, helping people overcome the trauma of the
bomb attacks on the Madrid railway in March.
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| Paraguayan
rescue workers recover the remains of victims of the supermarket
fire (REUTERS/ courtesy www.alertnet.org)
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| Near
the destroyed Ycua Bolanos supermarket I Asunción,
Paraguayans light candles for the hundreds of victims
of the disaster (REUTERS/ courtesy www.alertnet.org)
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