Overview
- A powerful blast at the Albardón Bio biodiesel plant in Puerto General San Martín on Tuesday, Sept. 29 destroyed a methanol tank, killed two contract workers and left four people injured, one with burns to about 60% of his body who was airlifted to HECA.
- Fire crews from San Lorenzo and Rosario used foam agents, thermal cameras and drones to fight the methanol fire and search collapsed structures because water alone cannot extinguish alcohol fires and methanol flames can be nearly invisible.
- Albardón Bio says the explosion occurred during contractor maintenance and the company activated containment measures, environmental monitoring and an internal inquiry while offering assistance to victims’ families.
- The Ministerio Público de la Acusación and fire-forensics experts have opened judicial and technical investigations to establish the cause, with examiners focusing on maintenance procedures, venting/grounding and contractor oversight.
- A small vapor cloud seen during cleanup on Sept. 30 was attributed by firefighters to a controlled reaction between leaked sulfuric acid and extinguishing water, and response operations have shifted from rescue to debris search, cleanup and monitoring.