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Homeless Man Dies of Cardiac Arrest at Uruguayan Emergency Shelter
🇺🇾 Uruguay /Disasters & Emergencies

Homeless Man Dies of Cardiac Arrest at Uruguayan Emergency Shelter

From El País · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A 49-year-old homeless man died of cardiac arrest at a national emergency system shelter in Uruguay.
  • The man had been staying at the shelter since Wednesday night after being found on the street during an extreme cold alert.
  • Social Development Minister Gonzalo Civila addressed criticism, stating the government provided assistance and that the individual had lost contact with social protection services since 2021.

A 49-year-old man experiencing homelessness died of cardiac arrest at a National Emergency System (SINAE) evacuation center in Montevideo on Thursday. The man had been housed at the shelter, located at the National Police School's sports complex, since Wednesday night. He was initially found on the street and brought to the facility as part of an extreme cold alert issued by the government.

The government gave its face through the body that governs the red alert for low temperatures, which is SINAE.

— Gonzalo CivilaMinister of Social Development, responding to criticism about the government's handling of the situation.

Around 3:15 PM on Thursday, the man experienced a medical emergency and received assistance from health personnel at the center. Despite resuscitation efforts by two medical teams and a specialized ambulance, he was pronounced dead at 4:39 PM.

The Uruguayan State made the decision that the issue of homelessness would no longer be solely the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Development and would become the responsibility of the entire State.

— Gonzalo CivilaMinister of Social Development, explaining the government's approach to addressing homelessness.

Social Development Minister Gonzalo Civila responded to opposition criticism following the death. He stated that the government, through SINAE, had provided assistance and that the man had not been in contact with any national social protection networks since 2021. Civila emphasized that the Uruguayan state had taken the issue of homelessness beyond a single ministry, making it a state-wide concern.

He had been sporadically linked between 2020 and 2021. From 2021 onwards, he had no contact with any social protection network in the country. Nor did we or the National Police have any alert.

— Gonzalo CivilaMinister of Social Development, detailing the deceased man's lack of recent contact with social services.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El País in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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