Government of Quito Searches the Arsonists While the Number of Injured Increases
September 25, 2024 Hour: 4:31 pm
The number of injured by the fire that has put in check Quito, the capital of Ecuador, rose to seven on Wednesday, while the authorities continue trying to control several still active foci, while searching for the alleged perpetrators of this fire that is presumed to be intentional, with rewards included for anyone who gives information that facilitates their identification and capture.
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At the first hour of this Wednesday, and after more than twelve hours of efforts to extinguish the fire, the commander of the Quito Fire Department, Esteban Cárdenas, said that seven people, including a baby under one year old, his mother and two firefighters, They were stinked up in the fires.
Gabriel Rodriguez, Fire Department captain, said that there are four firefighters who have “some blows” by falls due to the complex topography of the fire area, while on their side, The Ministry of Health reported that 44 people were being treated because of the fires.
Rodríguez explained that on Tuesday they first fought the fire with containment work to prevent the spread of the forest fire, and at night they performed monitoring and fighting the flames.
On Wednesday morning, they used thermal camera drones to establish hot spots in order to determine strategies and tactics for operations.
According to Rodríguez, this Tuesday two fire pits were still active: one in Cerro Auqui and another in the Parque Metropolitano, from where smoke columns have come out that keep part of the city under a mist and with a burning smell in the environment, especially in the north of the city.
According to the authorities, three houses were completely destroyed and five others affected.
From Tuesday to early Wednesday, 107 people had been evacuated on a preventive basis, some of whom have already returned home.
It should be noted that the authorities have found evidence indicating that the accidents were caused intentionally. A reward was offered for providing information that would lead to the alleged arsonists.
On Wednesday afternoon, he found two cans of flammable material near the area where the fire was believed to have started. The drums, now in police custody, contained used oil and had a “strong diesel smell,” according to Ecuadorian authorities.
The mayor of Quito, Pabel Muñoz, reiterated this Wednesday that with the national government have agreed “to catalogue this attack, these fires, criminals and terrorists”.
The fires occurred in the early morning hours when “there is no sun, no radiation and, of course, human action”, he said, while the Public Prosecutor’s Office opened a preliminary investigation into the fires in Quito.