Ar least 7 incinerated 49 burned in truck inferno

At least seven people died and 49 others suffered severe burns when a truck carrying fuel exploded on a highway in northern Colombia, on Monday, July 6.

The death toll is expected to rise as many injured have “second and third-degree burns that involve 60% and 70% of their bodies” while the minimal local health services are swamped with coronavirus patients.

The accident occurred while dozens of people looted the truck that had overturned when it was traveling between the cities of Barranquilla and Santa Marta, in the Colombian Caribbean, according to police. The driver of the vehicle was saved.

Carlos Caicedo governor of the Magdalena department said that some people approached the scene of the accident, and  the truck exploded “soon after” and “unfortunately this reckless situation caused seven people to be burned to death and 49 were injured,”

According to videos released by authorities, dozens of people with plastic cans were taking fuel from the overturned truck before it exploded.

The explosion occurred in the impoverished municipality of Puebloviejo, with some 33,000 inhabitants.

“The population goes to desperate forms of subsistence,” Caicedo explained, and questioned about “accumulated poverty in a territory that faces the Caribbean Sea and a swamp rich in biodiversity and between two capital cities.”

The entire department of Magdalena, lacks specialized medical units to care for burned patients.

“We have coordinated with the Ministry of Health the transfer of burned patients to other hospitals (…)

The Colombian Caribbean is one of the regions of the country most affected by coronavirus, which has caused more than 4,000 deaths and 120,000 infections in the coffee country. In cities like Barranquilla, located 45 kilometers from the accident, the health system is approaching saturation point.