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🇧🇴 Bolivia /Conflict & Security

“Our Immediate Priority Is the People”: Government Responds to Viacha Military Base Tragedy

From El Deber · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Two explosions at the Bolívar Regiment in Viacha damaged military facilities and nearby homes, leaving two people confirmed dead and seven members of the armed forces missing.
  • Authorities reported 81 injured people, including two in serious condition, and said emergency teams were searching the site.
  • Officials said investigators were determining what material caused the much larger second blast.

“Our immediate priority is the people,” Defense Minister Ernesto Justiniano said after two explosions tore through the Bolívar Regiment in Viacha on Friday afternoon. The blasts caused extensive damage at the military facility and damaged homes nearby, leaving some families unable to return to their houses.

Our immediate priority is the people.

· Ernesto JustinianoBolivia’s defense minister described the government’s response after the explosions at the Bolívar Regiment in Viacha.

Security and rescue teams were searching for seven missing people. Justiniano said all of them were members of Bolivia’s armed forces. He confirmed two deaths and said 81 injured people had received treatment or been taken to health centers. Two of the injured were in serious condition.

The minister said the explosions occurred about 20 minutes apart. The first apparently involved black powder associated with pyrotechnic material stored at the site. A second detonation, far more powerful, caused the main destruction. Justiniano described it as a chain of explosions, while stressing that investigators had not yet determined the material involved or the cause of the blast.

At this moment, we have two confirmed deaths and seven people reported missing.

· Ernesto JustinianoThe minister gave the initial toll and missing-persons figure.

Authorities activated emergency procedures and coordinated the response with the Bolivian Police, armed forces, Civil Defense, firefighters, the Health Ministry, the departmental health service, the Viacha municipal government, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and representatives of the Legislative Assembly. Military police remained at the affected area to secure the site.

The second explosion was enormous in magnitude, and it was the explosion that really caused the corresponding damage.

· Ernesto JustinianoHe described the difference between the first and second blasts.

Justiniano expressed condolences and solidarity with the families of those killed. He said the Health Minister was personally monitoring hospitals and the condition of those affected. He declined to provide further details about the missing, saying authorities wanted to act responsibly toward people who had not yet been located.

We are working here in coordination with the Bolivian Police, the Armed Forces, Civil Defense, firefighters, the Ministry of Health, SEDES, the Viacha municipal government, the Public Prosecutor’s Office and representatives of the Legislative Assembly.

· Ernesto JustinianoThe minister listed the agencies involved in the emergency response.
About this summary

Originally published by El Deber in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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