The alarm that no one heard
The detectors rang. The pressure gauges marked what they shouldn’t. And then, the explosion. Relatives of the five people who lost their lives in the fire at the Olmeca Refinery last Tuesday have no doubts: it was negligence.
“The entire refinery has gas detectors, through that the tragedy could have been avoided,”
says Luis Ramírez, son of one of the victims. His father, Ezequiel Ramírez, a security guard, was buried this Thursday. The videos of the moment, according to Luis, show how the vehicle in which they were traveling exploded when approaching the fence. The cause: a lethal accumulation of gas that the systems had already detected.
Selective memory and empty promises
Here we go again. The post-tragedy choreography is repeated: urgent meetings, coordination with local authorities, promises of support to families. Marcela Villegas and César Raúl Ojeda Zubieta, senior officials at Pemex, are already at it.
But the relatives ask for the only thing that matters: a real investigation. Not a technical report that files the case. They demand answers as to why the alarms were ignored. Why systems failed or were ignored.
Also among the deceased are Diana Cecilia Gómez Jiménez, single mother of two children, and Fernando Arias de la Cruz, supervisor. Lives cut short while Pemex assures that “the situation cannot be minimized.” Of course you can’t. But you can investigate to the bottom.
The refinery labor community is hurt. Nearby schools have been temporarily relocated. There is talk of monitoring contractor companies.
What is not talked about is responsibility. Why the alarms ring in vain. About how many more times we will have to bury workers before the lessons are learned.
The truth hurts more than fire. And here it burns.
