An 89-year-old man is so far the only confirmed death from the collapse of the Apart Hotel Dubrovnik, in Villa Gesell. The 10-story building collapsed this Tuesday and was completely destroyed.
Under the rubble, Firefighters and Civil Defense work around the clock to rescue the people who were trapped, who are believed to be about 10 victims.
At 10:30 in the morning, the rescuers managed to remove the deceased’s wife, María Bonaza, 80 years old, who was “lucid” at the time of the rescue. Both were tourists from the town of Balcarce. The woman is being transferred to Mar del Plata by helicopter.
More than 300 rescuers from different teams of Volunteer Firefighters from Madariaga, Pinamar, Mar de Ajó and Santa Clara, Police Firefighters from the Mar del Plata Rescue Brigade, and municipal Health, Security, Civil Defense and Traffic forces are working at the site. .
The Ministry of National Security also mobilized two specialized teams from the Federal Police. In the first, structural engineers, rescue specialists (USAR), operations personnel and incident command system, HAZMAT and a canine pair trained in collapsed structures traveled. In the second, a minibus and a pumper with 19 personnel and specific machinery to provide logistical and operational support.
Gesell’s Security Minister, Javier Alonso, added that extensive raking work is being carried out with dogs both in the collapse area and in the adjacent building. A probe with a camera is used that allows us to reach the most complex places: “This is how we were in contact with the person we recently rescued, communicating until we were able to extract him from the place,” Alonso explained.
Regarding the continuity of the operation, Alonso explained that it will continue until all the debris has been removed. “Think that, in international experiences, hThere are people who have survived more than a week in the rubble; The protocol indicates working this way. We made a large ring to maintain silence, another smaller one where only people who are working enter. We will have to do the removal by hand and then get a crane to move the slabs; All of this implies that there could be people trapped underneath,” the minister explained.
The mayor of Villa Gesell, Gustavo Barrera, precisely indicated that the rescue work is “very delicate” because machines cannot enter and debris must be removed manually. “A great effort is being made,” he said. He also noted that the complex had “approved plans” in 1996 and “a building permit on the front of the building, but what fell out was the bottom, about 10 stories.”
The Municipality issued a statement in which they explained that on August 20 they detected and stopped work that was being carried out inside the property “without having the proper municipal authorization.”
The work of rescuers in the collapsed apart hotel. Photo: Municipality of Villa Gesell
“At this time, although we cannot speak exactly about the details of the collapse, it can be stated that in the collapsed part (the rear part) the structure would have been modified in a way illegal and irregular“, they stated.
Barrera reported that four have been arrested in the case, at the request of prosecutor Verónica Zamboni. Two of them were at the scene and two others approached after the collapse. The Minister of Security of the Province, Javier Alonso, said that now they will seek to determine what responsibilities they had in the work that caused the collapse.
