LIMA, Feb 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The death toll from the explosion of a gas
tanker in Lima last month has risen to 30, Peru’s ministry of health said.
Two women and a man were the most recent to succumb to burns from a
fireball that occurred when the tanker truck carrying 10,000 liters of liquefied gas exploded on Jan 23.
Initially only two people were killed and 50 injured, but the death toll
has continued to rise due to the severity of their burns.
Investigators believed the explosion was caused when a fuel hose became
detached as the truck passed over a speed bump. It ignited a major fire that
destroyed several houses and vehicles in the capital’s Villa El Salvador
district.
“Our deepest condolences to the relatives,” Defense Minister Walter Martos
said Thursday, pledging to visit all of the dozen still-hospitalized victims.
Martos said reconstruction was set to begin Monday and said the displaced
might be relocated to other houses nearby.
The public prosecutor has accused tanker driver Luis Guzman, 74, of
culpable homicide, though investigations are ongoing. — NNN-AGENCIES