The false alarm about the breakage of the San Antonio del Sur dam that triggered moments of panic among residents of that Guantanamo municipality last Friday resulted in the deaths of at least three people, according to a recent revelation on social media by Daniel Ross Diéguez, an audiovisual producer who has been documenting the situation of the inhabitants in the areas most affected by Hurricane Oscar.
"Adolfo, the one in the red sweater in this photo, lost his mother, Nelvis, 62, early this morning. She passed away due to a hip fracture that occurred during a false alarm a few days ago. They are holding the wake for her at their home. After arriving at the hospital in Guantánamo, she slipped," wrote Ross Diéguez on Facebook alongside a photo showing the grieving individual with others.
"Two others died that day of the incident due to heart attacks upon hearing the news here in San Antonio de Sur," the source added, referring to October 25, the day when the rumor of the dam's break unleashed panic in a community already deeply affected emotionally by the severe flooding that has marked a significant turning point in that region.
Daniel Ross Diéguez did not provide details about the other two victims who reportedly died of a heart attack.
Last Friday, local authorities confirmed that Hurricane Oscar did not cause any damage to the Pozo Azul dam in the Guantanamo region, which has a capacity of 14.8 million cubic meters, after rumors of a supposed breach led to total chaos in San Antonio del Sur.
Amid the crisis caused by the hurricane in that Guantanamo municipality, the local population panicked following the spread of a rumor about a possible breach of the dam, which at that time was storing 12.7 million cubic meters of water, putting it at 86% of its capacity.
Dozens of people left their homes and took to the streets, pushing the elderly in wheelchairs and running to seek shelter or getting onto trucks to move away from the area, according to videos posted by journalist Miguel Reyes on Facebook.
The confusion also affected essential services and workers from other provinces who were trying to evacuate the area.
Daniel Ross Diéguez himself described in a Facebook live how he experienced the moment.
"Many trucks started to turn around, hurriedly signaling. That was the first alert. Cars were coming from ETECSA, from churches, workers from other provinces, maybe even from embassies. I remember a jeep full of people approaching, and that’s when we became worried. The cars were overflowing. We understood that something bad had happened. Finally, a car stopped that had quite a few people in it and gave us the news," he explained.
Subsequently, the Cuban government, through its National Defense Council, announced that it will investigate and take action against those responsible for spreading the false news.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
What do you think?
COMMENTFiled under: