Second fire at Panamas garbage dump
A second fire at the Cerro Patacón garbage dump has been contained in one day. The first fire lasted for weeks.
Enrique Ho Fernandez, director of waste agency AAUD, said that the fire was reported at 1 a.m. on Sunday and was extinguished by members of the garbage authority, the Panama Fire Department and Urbalia, the company managing the landfill.
Ho Fernandez said that 1,000 gallons of foam was used to put out the fire.
The Ministry of Health has conducted an inspection at the site.
Officials plan to strengthen security around the dump, saying that two fires within a month can't be an accident.
It is assumed that the fire was started by people who survive by scavenging in the landfill. They often burn tires to extract the metal inside to sell for scrap.
President Ricardo Martinelli has blamed the fire on a Machiavellian plot.