British Angry about Burning Deaths of Children in Fire

Colombian forensic team examine the carcass of a car fire in which 31 children were killed in Fundacion, Colombia, May 18, 2014 (Photo Oscar Mejia. AFP)

Colombia was in mourning and anger Monday after the death of more than 30 children burnt alive in a fire at a bus in the north of the country, a drama apparently due to the negligence of the driver who took the leakage before going to the police.
The accident occurred Sunday afternoon after returning from a church service to Fundacion, a small town in the province of Magdalena. The vehicle, which brought home the young parishioners of the Pentecostal Church, exploded before being destroyed by fire.

According to preliminary investigation, the driver was driving without a license 52 minors aged three to twelve years aboard his bus, a figure higher than what is allowed for this type of vehicle.

"The community is in mourning, 32 children were burnt and 20 others were taken to hospital," told the press Stella Luz Duran, mayor of Fundacion.

A previous report provided by the Red Cross reported 31 dead and twenty-four others seriously injured - many of them in critical condition - and an adult.

"I am upset and the whole country is in mourning for the death of these children in this tragedy. We will never forget them, "responded the Head of State Juan Manuel Santos, who went, with families of the victims met in college Fundacion, in the evening, after his last campaign rally, one week the first round of the presidential election.

Rescuers removed the charred body of the blackened carcass of the bus, before sending the medical institute of Barranquilla, the regional capital, to identify them, a task that could take several days.

"Everything is going to be scrutinized, investigations are underway," he assured the Colombian president, announcing that the state would cover all expenses for the care of wounded and funeral Fundacion, where Mayor Luz Stella Duran announced a three-day mourning and abstinence from alcohol.

- The driver in custody -

In the wake of tragedy, controversy erupted on the status of bus belonging to the religious community and the attitude of the driver specially recruited to lead the children to church. After the accident, the latter fled his house and saw caillassée by angry residents went looking for him. He was arrested several hours after the accident.

The Crown confirmed Monday that he had no license.

"The driver was arrested, he himself surrendered to authorities this morning and is expected to explain himself at the hearing," said a spokesman for police in Magdalena. "He is in custody time to determine its responsibility," he said.

Among the tracks, investigators are studying the possibility that the driver has used a can of gasoline purchased smuggled to refuel the vehicle, a dangerous process which led to the explosion.

Testimonies of survivors are overwhelming for the man whose identity was not revealed. He would have continued for some time to roll when the vehicle lost gasoline, before stopping.

"He got off the bus to put gas and all the children were inside. At one point, sparks sprang. This is where the driver went to fetch water, and then he left. I broke the glass and I took my little sister, but I could not save my two brothers, "he told a 11 year old girl in the local press.

Other versions indicate a mechanical fault caused the accident because that was not in good standing or for insurance or for technical control since 2012, according to Transport Minister Cecilia Alvarez.