Tragedy in Paraná: Explosion in silo of agroindustrial cooperative kills 8 people

The accident occurred late Wednesday afternoon (26), on a property located in the municipality of Palotina. According to Civil Defense, eight people lost their lives, eleven were injured and one person is still missing.

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Photo Reproduction/RPC/Profile Brazil

A tragic explosion that occurred in a silo belonging to an agro-industrial cooperative in the state of Paraná, on Wednesday (26), left eight people dead. According to the Civil Defense, another 11 people suffered serious injuries, while one person remains missing.

Explosion

The incident took place in the late afternoon, in a grain drying silo located on C.Vale's property, an agro-industrial cooperative located in the municipality of Palotina, with around 30,000 inhabitants. Tiago Zajac, spokesman for the fire department of Paraná, reported the events to AFP. The site is a large reservoir for the storage of agricultural products.

"There was an explosion in one of the silos, which triggered a second and a third in two other silos," explained Zajac

After the explosions, one of the silos had its roof partially destroyed. Images shared on social networks and disseminated by Brazilian print vehicles show an important column of white smoke emerging from the interior. Zajac reported that the structure of the silos was significantly compromised, and fire crews worked hard to ensure safety before starting the on-site rescue procedure.

Captain Rodrigues, a member of the Fire Department, explained that some people were present in a tunnel underground that connected the silo warehouses at the time of the explosions. Rodrigues also provided details on the location of two bodies. According to him, it is likely that these people were hit by the shock wave generated during an explosion, instantly causing their deaths. He also reported that one of the bodies was found in the front area of ​​the warehouse, where the service was being carried out, while another victim was located at the back of the site.

So far, authorities have not identified the cause of the explosions, keeping the investigation ongoing.

Victims

Initially, seven deaths were counted. Around 8 am on Thursday (28), the Legal medical Institute (IML) confirmed the death of one more person, bringing the total number of fatal victims to eight. In addition, there is still a missing person, as reported in the latest Civil Defense update.

The accident also left 11 people injured, all of whom were taken to hospitals in the region. According to information from the Secretary of State for Health (Sesa), initially, 10 wounded were in serious condition. However, with the recent death, the number of seriously injured has been updated to nine.

Rescue

The Fire Department reported that it created a task force to help rescue victims. According to the corporation, more than 35 rescuers were mobilized, along with 11 trucks, to respond to the emergency in the early hours of Wednesday night. In addition, dogs from Palotina, Cascavel and Toledo, cities in western Paraná, were also made available to assist in operations.

On the same night, the state government sent 14 firefighters from the Tactical Relief Operations Group (Gost), a specialized team from the corporation, as well as two dogs, via two Casa Militar planes. In a statement, the Secretary of State for Health communicated that it is collaborating with the Municipality of Palotina to coordinate the transfers of injured patients.

Cooperative

The cooperative has operations in Paraná, Santa Catarina, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraguay. It stands out as the 5th largest company in the agribusiness sector in the southern region of Brazil in terms of sales and occupies the 2nd position in the state of Paraná. C.Vale, through a statement, reiterated its commitment to collaborate with the security forces.

C.Vale communicates to its associates and community in general that on Wednesday, July 26th, at 4:50 pm, a large-scale accident hit our central grain reception unit in Palotina, western Paraná, due to causes not yet identified.

At the moment, the priority is focused on mobilizing all the efforts and resources necessary to preserve the integrity of the employees affected by the incident and support the relatives of the possible victims affected.

At the moment, all the cooperative's security teams are actively collaborating with public authorities involved, aiming to minimize the effects of this regrettable event.

As soon as all the variables are identified and the repercussions generated by the incident are determined, a new clarification note will be issued by the crisis management team installed at that time" says the cooperative's note.