The number of fatalities resulting from an explosion near the capital of the Dominican Republic in a market area has increased to 32, according to officials on Saturday (August 19). This update comes one day after Dominican authorities declared their intention to pursue a criminal case against a plastics company based on evidence collected during an investigation into the incident.
The explosion, which occurred on Monday (August 14), reverberated through the San Cristobal area, situated less than 30 kilometers west of the country’s capital, Santo Domingo.
The health ministry’s latest report on Saturday stated that the death toll from the explosion has now reached 32. Among the 59 individuals injured, 12 remain hospitalized, with three in intensive care and five in burn units.
Recently, the police and public ministry issued a joint statement revealing that the explosion, which also caused damage to nine buildings and obliterated four, took place at a business called Vidal Plast, contrary to the initial assertion that it happened at a bakery.
Citing prosecutor Fadulia Rosa Rubio, the statement highlighted, “The Public Ministry has evidence that implicates the criminal responsibility of those responsible who, through their actions, caused the death of dozens of people and incurred millions in losses.”
Officials shared that the company Vidal Plast engages in plastic material recycling, purchasing, and sales. They also indicated that there was a previous fire at the business in March, following a spark and a chemical substance, and the company failed to take precautions despite being aware of the high operational risks, as reported by the Associated Press.
Search and rescue teams, including those accompanied by sniffer dogs, continued their efforts at the site, as noted by Julian Garcia, the deputy director of the Emergency Operations Center (COE), on Friday. Garcia stressed that the search would persist until all the debris had been cleared and cautioned that the death toll might still rise. An AFP report citing COE revealed that among the 32 individuals who lost their lives, “13 bodies have been identified and 11 bodies have been released to their families.”
The government announced on Thursday that the process of identifying all the victims of the explosion might take up to three months.
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