“There were no windows to escape”: fire in Chile claims the lives of 14 migrants from Venezuela, six were minors

Once again, a fire of great proportions mourns the Venezuelans, the community of migrants who left in search of better opportunities to live. Last March it was in Ciudad Juárez. This time, on Monday, November 6, 2023, the fire destroyed a few simple houses in an invasion (slum) in Coronel, Chile.

The flames destroyed the houses, but also the lives of 14 people. The victims included minors. They had all come from Venezuela.

The victims are three families, made up of adults and several minors between the ages of 4 and 13, who lived in overcrowded conditions in two precarious buildings, EFE reported.

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What happened in Coronel, Chile, with the migrants

On Tuesday morning, the Spanish agency indicated that eight minors were among the deceased. However, in Bíobío they published that the local fire brigade confirmed this The victims are eight adults and six minors..

The first investigations – continues EFE – suggest that the cause of the incident was the malfunction of a copper heater with which one of the families tried to stay warm in an extremely poor neighborhood where the population lives overcrowded and without the minimum facilities for a decent life.

According to Bíobío, citing Colonel Luis Rozas, prefect of the Prefecture of Concepción, the damaged building had only one entrance and exit, which made rescuing the victims difficult.

“There were no windows to escape,” noted residents of the camp in Coronel, where this tragedy occurred. At least one of the houses “had only one entrance and exit,” Rozas said, according to AFP.

“There were no doors, there were no windows to start. “We all thought this would happen at some point because it’s all illegal.”

Jocelyn in Biobio

Fighting the flames was uphill due to the weather conditions in the area. Shortly before 9 p.m. on Monday evening (9 p.m.), the fire brigade of the municipality of Coronel brought the fire under control.

The victims

Digital media reports that the victims came from the state of Táchira, located in the Andean region.

Jose Gregorio Mengual, who said he was from Venezuela, noted that his compatriots had lived in Coronel for about two months. They had been staying at “an outlet at the intersection of Vista Hermosa and Central Street.”

According to what was published in the report of El Inmigrante Chile, the deceased were identified as Jorlej Pérez, 28 years old, and his partner, Jeferson Márquez, 22 years old. They had 3 children.

The Vivas Martínez family lost five of its members. Another family group included Edilza Mildred Martínez, 36 years old, her husband Rafael Soto, 38 years old, and their six-year-old son.

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Boric’s question

Chile’s President Gabriel Boric joined the “tear” caused by the tragedy during an institutional event he attended on Tuesday morning.

He recalled that among the 14 fatalities were “several children, all migrants.” He maintained that “it would be good to ask in our speeches, in our actions, How do we deal with those people? who died yesterday and how the proposed regulations also take these realities into account.”

“Humanity and respect for the rights of every human being, just by virtue of being human, is what should inspire us and what should guide the actions of this government,” he said, according to Bíobío.

On Tuesday evening, November 7, the population affected by this tragedy in Coronel took part in a vigil. The Venezuelan tricolor flag flew next to the Chilean flag at a local school. Everyone prayed for the victims. REST IN PEACE

(JO)