Explosion beneath Panama Canal’s Bridge of the Americas kills one and leaves multiple people injured
One person was killed and many others were injured in a powerful explosion near a large bridge near the Panama Canal.
The fuel tanker explosion caused apocalyptic scenes as passengers on a bus crossing the Bridge of the Americas came close to being engulfed by fireballs and clouds of smoke.
After 16:00 yesterday, passengers were seen getting up from their seats and quickly moving away from the windows as flames and black smoke approached them.
It is believed that the killed person was an employee of a complex where tankers are refueled.
It took firefighters three hours to extinguish the fire and make the area safe.
A spokesman for the Panama Fire Brigade confirmed: ‘Unfortunately, a person, possibly a collaborator of the company, who was trapped during the fire and subsequent explosion in the tanker vehicles, has died.
He said two of the injured were civilians, while the other two were firefighters who were ‘out of danger’.
As part of the first mobilization, more than 70 firefighters and 45 emergency response vehicles were sent to the scene.
One person died and many were injured in the explosion under the Panama Canal’s Bridge of the Americas.
A fuel tanker explosion caused apocalyptic scenes as passengers on a bus crossing the Bridge of the Americas came close to being engulfed by fireballs and clouds of smoke.
Passengers were seen getting up from their seats and quickly moving away from the windows as flames and black smoke approached them.
A man was seen running away from the vehicle as hell exploded in the background
Panamanian firefighters battle a fire caused by the explosion of a fuel tanker under the Bridge of the Americas at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal in Panama City on April 6.
It took firefighters three hours to extinguish the fire and make the area safe
According to Bomberos Panama, the fire, caused by the explosion of several tanker trucks, ‘spread rapidly after the initial explosion, causing numerous explosions and a dense column of smoke that covered the area, while vehicles traveling on the road were caught in the middle of the emergency.’
The Ministry of Public Works announced that the bridge was temporarily closed after the fire.
“This preventive measure is taken to ensure the safety of drivers, while expert technical teams are also carrying out the relevant pathological technical examination to verify the structural conditions of the bridge,” the ministry said. he said.
‘The crossing will remain closed until it is confirmed that traffic is completely safe and technical results are provided to support this.’
The Bridge of the Americas, completed in 1962 at a cost of £15.2 million, was closed after the incident so authorities could inspect structural damage.
Unconfirmed local reports said the explosion occurred as workers were transferring fuel to a tank.
