Anger after gas explosion kills two at Greater BA public school

An issue with the supply of gas to the kitchen of a public school in Buenos Aires where an explosion on Thursday killed two staff members had been reported at least eight time to provincial authorities, the school’s principal said yesterday.

The explosion happened at Public School No. 49 “Nicolás Avellaneda” in the Greater Buenos Aires district of Moreno at 7am Thursday morning. The explosion oc curre da few minutes befo re childrenwe re dueto enter class, preventing a larger tragedy. Those killed have been identified as Sandra Calamano, 48, the school’s deputy principal and, Rubén Orlando Rodríguez, 45, a teacher’s assistant.

“We sent many complaints about the situation. They would take a week to come and check. It’s an embarrassment. No provincial school offers the necessary conditions to give classes,” the school’s principal Héctor Vizio told reporters yesterday.

Vizio has been on leave as principal sin ce earlierint he y e ar, after he was shot at the entrance of the school.

“She died for thekids. She was at the school because she did not want the kids to go without food, she was preparing their breakfast,” a teacher named Debora told the press, referring to the late deputy principal.“Our school is like a family. We spend eight ours here. It’s not fair for them to say we hold the kids hostage, while they force us to work in these conditions.”

Moreno is governed by a Peronist mayor linked to former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Wálter Festa.

The district’s school board has been under trusteeship since late 2017 an discurrently controlled by public officials linked to Governor María Eugenia Vidal.

Teachers from Buenos Aires City and province held a “Day of mourning” yesterday, with teachers unions calling a 24-hour strike and staging marches at various locations to demand justice for the victim.

Tensions are high in the education sector, with teachers in Buenos Aires pro v in ce engaging in walk-outs over ongoing collective wage bargaining talks with the Vidal government.

President Mauricio Macri and the governor faced criticism on Thursday and Friday for failing to address the explosion at public events. In a statement on Facebook yesterday, Vidal said she would “remain silent,” criticising the “political use” of the tragedy by “certain sectors.”