In the middle of a building demolition operation, operators of a company that carried out work for the City Government demolished “by mistake” a significant number of homes in the part known as Villa 31 Bis, located under the Arturo Illia highway.
Due to the episode, 30 families had to spend the night in a shed and denounced the lack of responses.
Later, while firefighters and police tried to help, a short circuit occurred that started a fire, for reasons that are still under investigation. According to the story of the residents of the place, it was because the electrical connections were manipulated.
Although the Buenos Aires government acknowledges having affected 15 families, the neighbors assure that the number of families affected by the “error” is double.
So far, the only offer from the City Government is to transfer them to hostels, although without guaranteeing the care of the belongings that were left in the place, under the rubble.
Romina María José Espinoza, one of the affected neighbors, said that she had to spend the night sitting in the place and demanded urgent answers. “I’m eight months pregnant, I rented here and now we don’t have anything, I don’t know if I lost everything, because they don’t let us come in to see it,” she was outraged.
Analía Dayoso, who also lives in the place, recounted for her part that she found out about the collapse from the neighbors. “No one warned of the operation they were going to do. I came and found the rubble, I have a 10-year-old son who luckily was not there. I slept in a chair on the street, no one gives us an answer, all my things are in there, ”he lamented.
“Where am I going to sleep now? I have no other place. I am not going to go with my son to a hostel, knowing how they work. Also, my son is asthmatic. They do not solve anything for us. I lost everything, there is another lady who burned everything. They tell us that they don’t know what happened, nobody is responsible for anything,” added Dayoso.
From the Ministry of Human Development and Habitat they approached the place, about 24 hours after the collapse and fire, to talk with the neighbors, who refuse to be transferred to shelters for homeless people and demand an urgent solution.
