By Manuel Acevedo
Dec 17, 2023, 9:55 PM EST
An 11-year-old boy died and 13 other people were injured after collapsing, in the middle of a storm, a sports Center in the city of Caaguazú (southwest of Paraguay), as reported by government authorities. The citizens were in the place for an award ceremony for some underage footballers.
According to reports from the authorities, the sports structure collapsed in the middle of heavy rain with gusts of wind, which caused the place to collapse. The initial versions indicated that the property belongs to the Club 8 de Diciembre of the city’s local soccer club.
Prosecutor Marta Leiva Martínez, of the Penal Unit Number 3 of Caaguazúhe told the agency EFE that many people had attended the place, there were even entire families.
The tax authority confirmed the death of the minor and indicated that the 13 injured people suffered injuries of varying severity.
Leiva Martínez explained that a “preliminary survey” of the conditions of the building was carried out, which must be evaluated by other professionals.
Injured according to firefighters
A fire department spokesperson told the channel ABC TV that in the midst of the emergency, around 50 people were transferred to healthcare centers in the area, all of them were minors, and between 10 and 20 adults. The officials explained that the transferred people presented injured or were in shock from the accident.
For his part, the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare of Paraguay reported in a statement that five children suffered injuries, including head trauma and cuts.
Five other adults had injuries, one of whom had to be airlifted to the Trauma Hospital in Asunción, the country’s capital, due to his delicate condition.
The health office activated an operation to respond to the emergency from at least six hospitals in the central area of the country, as well as ambulances and planes to transport the injured.
What do local residents say?
An 80-year-old resident of the city of Caaguazú said that the local sports complex had been there since he was just a child. The citizens were shocked by the events that occurred because some activities had also been carried out the previous day.
“Everything happened very quickly,” said a man who was looking at the remains of the sports center.
One deceased after the storm in Caaguazú
🗣️”An 80-year-old neighbor comments that the shed has been there since he was a child,” commented one of the local neighbors. The collapse of this shed left a child dead 👇#C9N pic.twitter.com/Px6Qk5NNCR
— C9N Paraguay (@C9NParaguay) December 17, 2023
Many of the people who were near the place helped those affected by the collapse of the complex. They indicated that they tried to do everything possible to help the little ones, but despite their efforts the accident claimed the life of a child.
A woman assured that the construction of the sports center was “very old” and that perhaps that is one of the reasons for the lack of stability that the place had.
In the next few hours or days, the authorities will report on the pertinent investigation of the structure in addition to updating the medical reports of those who were injured.
With information from EFE
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