Fire in Riosucio, Chocó: Two dead and more than 70 houses affected – Other Cities – Colombia

Around 73 homes burned and two dead is the balance that, so far, leaves the strong fire that happened at dawn this Sunday in Riosucio, Chocó.

President Iván Duque announced that he instructed the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management – UNGRD – and the Vice Minister of the Interior, Daniel Palma, to move, from this morning, to the area to work hand in hand with the local authorities to coordinate care.

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“We regret the death of two people in Riosucio, Chocó, and painful emergency that several families are experiencing due to a raging fire that affected more than 50 homes. Since last night we have been in contact with Conrad Valoyes Mendoza, mayor of the municipality, to support the victims, “trilled the head of state.

(Also: Duque sends a government delegation to Riosucio, Chocó, after fire)

For his part, the mayor of the municipality, Conrad Valoyes Mendoza, indicated that since 3 in the morning the fire was put out thanks to the support of the community, the National Police and the Army.

Due to the conflagration there are already about 350 people affected. Some of them are looking for a shelter or they are relocating, according to Valoyes.

“We are currently in the process of investigation to determine the causes of this conflagration and presumably it is said that it was a pole, where there was a short circuit ”, explained the president, who is waiting for the arrival of aid from the National Government.

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On the other hand, Major General Juan Carlos Rodríguez, commander of the Army’s Seventh Division, announced that He sent a platoon of engineers to the municipality to begin rebuilding houses. “We also sent a tank car to deliver water to victims,” ​​he said.

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For now, work to remove rubble and recover some belongings in the affected homes continues. While the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management announced that a delegation from the National Government, At the head of the deputy director of Disaster Management of the UNGRD, he goes to the municipality to carry out attention tasks.

The first to alert about the emergency through social networks was Mayor Conrad Valoyes: “I want to call on the National Government to help us, please, my people are ending! Let them help us with helicopters, because we have several pumps working, but they are not enough. Riosucio now requires helicopters to quell this great emergency that exists. “

The intensity of the flames was recorded in several videos that circulated on Twitter and that reflected the moments of anguish of the residents.

MEDELLIN