Executives of Gas Company Arrested. Key executives of a Dominican Republic gas company, Coopegas Liquefied Petroleum Gas, were arrested on Monday. They were accused of causing the death of 11 people due to negligence at their bottling plant. The explosion occurred at the company’s bottling plant on Saturday, 3rd October, in the municipality of Licey al Medio, in Santiago. 11 people were killed, including a newborn in a nearby residence. Those arrested are Hector Ramon Vasquez Sandoval, General Manager; Aurilio Concepcion, President, Roberto Antonio Polanco, Operations Manager, and Emilio Yan, Manager of the affected station.
The Santiago prosecutor, Francisco Nunez, stated that in their investigation, they discovered negligence, human failure, and mechanical failure as the cause. The three safety valves that would have prevented the fire did not respond. According to the magistrate, the mode of operation of the company is a fraud to the Dominican state. The company operates under the rules of a cooperative. This implies that in 40 years, it can only register 91 members. “When analyzing the minutes of the assemblies we discovered that they were the same people who were recycled for the positions of administrator president and manager,” said the judicial official. According to Francisco Nunez, Coopegas has more than 20 stations across the country. These establishments operate as a cooperative to evade taxes.
The Tragedy
The accident occurred at 6 a.m. on Saturday, 3rd October due to gas leakage. Executives of gas company arrested. The shockwaves affected nearby homes. Some of the injured were transferred to the Medical Union, the Santiago Metropolitan Hospital (HOMS), the Cabral y Báez Hospital. Others were taken to the Ney Arias Lora Burn Unit in Santo Domingo Norte. The two homes hit by the explosion have “very considerable damage,” said the Civil Defense report. It stated that the technical department of the Fire Department and the Police were investigating the cause of the gas leak. The explosion “generated uncertainty” in the Licey community, said the report.
Similar Explosion
On 5th December 2018, a similar explosion took place. The massive blast occurred shortly before midday at Polyplas Dominicana, a preform and bottle supplier owned by diversified business group Diesco Ltd. Executives of gas company arrested. It killed at least four people, including Polyplas’s production manager, and wounded 40 others. Some of the people affected were seriously injured. Workers failed to turn off a boiler while Liquefied Petroleum Gas was being delivered at a manufacturing plant. The gas trickled into a boiler and caught fire. As a result of the explosion, dozens of homes, stores, and schools were busted. The occupants of those homes had to be evacuated. As a result of the blast, there were smashed windows on buildings and automobiles. Injuries to fully plus employees and labels range from severe Burns to cut and bruises caused by flying glass and debris.
More
Slavery: An African Empire In Brazil
Unknown Arsonists Burn Down Headteacher`s office over Hijab Row
27 Rwandan and Burundi Rebels killed by DR Congo Army
