Double explosion in Viacha injured 84, with 31 still hospitalized and 53 discharged

Thirty-one people remain hospitalized after a double explosion at the Bolívar Artillery Regiment’s General Maintenance Center in Viacha, while 53 others have been discharged, Bolivia’s health minister said.

Marcela Flores said 84 people received treatment at medical centers in La Paz and Viacha following the Sept. 4 blast. Thirty-nine patients were transferred to hospitals, while 45 were treated at Viacha Hospital. Of those 45, one remains awaiting surgery for a fracture.

The Hospital of the North has one patient undergoing preoperative evaluation. Two people treated at the Hospital of the South have been discharged, while two patients awaiting surgery have fractures of the tibia and fibula. The Corazón de Jesús Hospital is treating 12 stable patients, including nine officers and three civilians, who could be released within hours. Three patients treated at Hospital Corea have also been discharged.

A girl with burns remains at the Children’s Hospital and was due to undergo a plastic surgery assessment. At the Hospital de Clínicas, two of three patients have been released and one remains stable under observation. Thirteen officers remain at Cossmil. At the Hospital del Tórax, one of two patients was discharged, while the other remains stable and will be transferred for orthopedic surgery for a shoulder fracture. One of two patients at the Hospital Obrero remains hospitalized.

Flores identified two patients as being at moderate risk. A police officer at the Hospital Obrero suffered an open fracture of the tibia and fibula, fractures to the metatarsals, the loss of a toe and a linear hip fracture. A second patient at Cossmil has a moderate traumatic brain injury and remains under observation. A 16-year-old who initially prompted particular concern responded well to surgery, the minister said.

“

The subsequent intervention on the hip has yet to be carried out.