Tank Barge Explosion Kills Five Workers on Paraguay River

Over the weekend, a blast tore apart a tank barge on the Paraguay River, killing five personnel who were working aboard.

On Saturday morning, a blast occurred inside a cargo tank on a barge at a mooring area across the river from Avenida Costanera Sur, a riverfront road running south from Asuncion. This stretch of the river has about half a dozen barge fleeting areas and maintenance yards. Security surveillance video from the scene show that the explosion peeled the deck off two tanks and about halfway off two more, exposing the inner bulkheads.

According to local media, the tank barge belonged to Lineas Panchita G and was undergoing maintenance at the time of the blast. The tanks were believed to be empty of fuel.

In addition to removing any liquid hydrocarbons, tank vessel maintenance requires extensive degassing measures prior to beginning repairs. An investigation is under way to determine the cause, and authorities will evaluate whether a buildup of flammable gases in the hold could have led to the explosion.

Three people were found dead at the scene, and two injured personnel who were evacuated later died of their wounds, according to Paraguay's General Naval Prefecture. The service identified the victims at Ever Nilson Sosa Rotela (26), Simón Díaz González (34), Giovani Samuel Amarilla Alegre (24), Jesús Alberto Miranda Lovera (28), and Carlos David Pérez Morinigo (31).

The sole survivor of the incident was on board a transport boat at the time of the blast, not the barge itself, naval commander Rear Admiral Óscar Chamorro told local media.