The explosion of Friday the 14th in the Carlos Spegazzini Industrial Estate, in Ezeiza, began a complex investigation that now focuses on the expertise to determine what caused the incident and how the fire advanced to destroy several ships, including those of Larroca Minera, Food Additives, Sinteplast and above all, Iron Mountain. Prosecutor Florencia Belloc, from UFI 1 of Ezeiza, coordinates the technical studies together with experts from the Scientific Police and specialized firefighters, who were only able to enter the property when the outbreaks were controlled and there was confirmation of what was under the fire.
The investigations seek to establish the exact point of the explosion, how the flames spread and whether there were safety failures, negligence or some external factor. The scenario complicates the work, since a good part of the property was reduced to rubble and only in the epicenter could useful traces be found to reconstruct what happened. According to judicial sources, damage patterns, thermal fingerprints, chemical remains and safety records will be analyzed to determine if the initial reaction was accidental or the product of a chain of errors.
The Safety and Hygiene engineer and chemist Edgardo Castrowho participated in the expert reports of the Iron Mountain fire in Barracas in 2014, in radio statements He warned that the conclusions will necessarily be limited: “Only the epicenter can be assessed, the rest is scorched earth.”he pointed out, and was categorical: “Whoever says they know how it started is lying.” The magistrate also questioned the general conditions of the property: “In a high-risk chemical industry you cannot put flammable and explosive materials together.”
Same suspicion
The complete destruction of the Iron Mountain deposit rekindled suspicions. Although it was about 90 meters from the alleged initial outbreak and, according to first reports, with the wind against it, its shed was completely consumed. Castro also highlighted that, while in most of the ships the smoke was black and dense, in Iron Mountain it was white, which would indicate that different materials were burned. But the specialist went further with a statement that revives old questions: “The function of Iron Mountain is to disappear hot information”. He maintained that sensitive documents from companies and organizations are usually stored there, and recalled that in 2014 the firm had already been the protagonist of an intentional fire with fatal consequences. This coincidence once again fueled doubts about what the company had kept in Ezeiza and why its warehouse was once again destroyed in an episode of exceptional characteristics.
The cause continues to be classified as “fire”, but the experts must determine if it was an accident, a chain of negligence or if it was intentional. With the property devastated, limited evidence and the shadow of Iron Mountain once again in the center, Justice faces the challenge of clarifying a case where certainties burned along with the ships and suspicions remain aflame.
