Explosion at São Paulo highway gas station leaves 9 injured

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – An explosion was registered in a gas station on the side of the Washington Luís highway, in Rio Claro, a city 178 km from São Paulo.

According to the company that runs the gas station, the establishment had 28 employees, divided into 3 shifts.

According to a statement released by the São Paulo State Police Fire Department, 2 people with serious and 7 with minor injuries were reported. A restaurant also operated at the site, and had all its windows blown out.

The explosion occurred at 7 PM, after 3 trucks at the site caught fire, one of them carrying explosive chemicals, causing a chain reaction. The flames did not reach the gas station pumps.

The incident opened a 6-meter wide crater in the courtyard where the vehicles were parked.

According to the State Police, the Fire Department is on site to isolate the area. Vehicles from the Mobile Emergency Care Service (SAMU) are also on the scene.

Residents panic

Residents of several neighborhoods in the city used social networks to report their panic soon after the explosion. In nearby neighborhoods, houses had their windows smashed due to the blast.

Living in Vila Alemã, Rio Claro Grupo editor Renato Hoffmann was one such resident who was startled by the loud explosion.

“I live on the opposite side of town, I was in my home and I felt the blast. It was something very, very strong!”, he reports.

City Hall urges population to remain calm

Rio Claro’s City Hall commented earlier in the evening about the explosion at a gas station in the city. In a note, the executive urged the population to refrain from seeking care in the city’s UPAs (emergency care units), so that medical professionals could assist the injured.

“The Municipal Public Safety Secretariat reports that the victims of the explosion at the gas station on the side of Washington Luís highway, in Rio Claro have been taken to the city’s urgency and emergency units, including Santa Filomena Hospital. There are no reports of fatalities for the time being.”

Source: UOL