"On the 22nd of April, 1992 a series of huge explosions ripped through the Mexican city of Guadalajara, opening up a trench almost eight kilometres (or five miles) in length..."
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LearningTranscript
00:00On the 22nd of April, 1992, a series of huge explosions ripped through the Mexican city of
00:18Guadalajara, opening up a trench almost eight kilometers, or five miles, in length. The
00:24destruction was absolute. Hundreds were killed, thousands injured, and vast tracts of the city
00:32damaged beyond recognition. As shocked survivors began digging through the rubble, the question
00:38remained... what could possibly have caused this kind of devastation on such an enormous scale?
00:48Guadalajara is one of the largest cities in Mexico.
00:52In 1992 its population was growing rapidly, having just passed three million. It was and
00:59is known for its rich culture and world-leading institutions. Two universities are based there,
01:05and it has been the host for numerous international sporting events.
01:10The day of the disaster began like any other in the city. In the downtown Analco-Colonia Atlas
01:16district it was market day, and so the streets were thronged with people. Many of those people
01:23couldn't fail to notice a strong smell in the air. For days now a gasoline-like scent had been
01:29becoming steadily stronger and stronger. It had reached the point where it couldn't be ignored.
01:35Some people experienced headaches and nausea, stinging eyes and sore throats. Others noticed
01:42unusual issues with their plumbing. Taps would spit and sputter, emitting a liquid that smelled
01:48disturbingly like gasoline instead of water, and elsewhere drain covers rattled and jumped,
01:55venting trails of white smoke as though pressure was building beneath them. By this stage many
02:02residents had complained about these issues, and so would have been relieved to see city workers
02:07conducting investigations in the area. It was clear that there was something wrong with the
02:12sewers, but there was no indication that it was anything dangerous. Quite the opposite, in fact.
02:18When asked directly workers assured residents that the problem was well in hand, and that there was
02:23no need for alarm. This wasn't entirely true. The city's water authority had conducted multiple
02:31surveys over the past few days, revealing a dangerous build-up of gasoline in the sewers.
02:37Despite this, however, they weren't authorized to order an evacuation, only to try and fix the
02:43problem by searching for the source of the gasoline and flushing out the sewers with water.
02:49Those who did have the authority to order an evacuation were reluctant to do so. It would be
02:54a massive, unprecedented operation affecting a huge number of people. The disruption and expense
03:01would be incredible. Rather than authorize such a dramatic evacuation they instead chose to focus
03:08on trying to resolve the problem while keeping residents calm at the same time. To this end
03:16the city fire chief even issued a radio bulletin acknowledging that there were problems with the
03:21sewers, but assuring people that there was no risk of an explosion, and urging everyone to remain
03:27calm as the problem was dealt with. And so, on market day, business continued as normal, with
03:35traders and customers thronging the streets. At 10.05am the first explosion took place.
03:44Over the next hour and a quarter it would be followed by eight more, each one large enough
03:49to collapse buildings, fling cars and buses into the air, and cave in the street itself to create
03:56a crater one story deep. Roads were transformed from paved thoroughfares to rivers of mud and dust
04:04bordered by rubble. Those who survived one explosion could not necessarily flee to safety,
04:10as they had no way of knowing where the next explosion would take place.
04:15Even as explosions continued to ripple through the district a rescue effort was underway. Ordinary
04:21people, many of them injured, dug through the wreckage for survivors while police and firefighters
04:27attempted to save whoever they could. The army was sent in to help, and surrounding districts
04:33were either evacuated or put on high alert for any unusual activity such as the smell of gasoline
04:40or rattling manhole covers. Many, many people were pulled from the rubble, some dead and some injured.
04:49Those who had been made homeless by the explosions were temporarily directed to stadiums while
04:54gymnasiums were turned into morgues to contain the dead, who could not be accommodated at the
04:59city's overflowing hospitals. In some places bulldozers were brought in to flatten partially
05:06collapsed buildings in order to create space for other heavy rescue equipment to be set up.
05:12However, this was done very early in the rescue operation, at a time when there was still an
05:17unknown number of survivors in the rubble. Local residents in one area resorted to lying down in
05:22front of the bulldozers to prevent them from flattening areas that had not yet been completely
05:28searched. Elsewhere rescuers dug with whatever materials they had available, sometimes just their
05:35bare hands. The site affected by the explosion was so extensive that it made for an impossibly
05:42complex rescue operation which continued for days after the initial explosions. Because the site was
05:49so complex the exact death toll is often disputed. Officials estimated that 252 people had been killed
05:57in the disaster, although many sources debate the accuracy of this figure, arguing that the real
06:03death toll could be much higher. 500 people were injured, 15,000 made homeless, and at least 500
06:11reported missing in the days after the blasts. In the aftermath of the disaster suspicion was
06:19directed at Pemex, a state oil company who managed a gasoline pipeline which ran directly under
06:25Guadalajara. Displaced residents were enraged at the way in which their concerns had been ignored.
06:32For days before the explosion they had complained of a smell of gasoline in their streets and houses,
06:38only to be told there was nothing to worry about. Pemex denied all responsibility, instead asserting
06:46that a small cooking oil factory was responsible. The people of Guadalajara were unsatisfied with
06:52this explanation, not least because Pemex had already been responsible for a number of smaller
06:58explosions in the years before the disaster. Despite mounting pressure Pemex continued to
07:05blame the cooking oil factory... until an investigation finally revealed the truth.
07:11A leak was found in Pemex's gasoline pipeline. The leak had been created by the proximity of
07:17the steel pipeline to a zinc-coated water pipe. In humid conditions the two metals had reacted,
07:25causing the steel to corrode to the point that it leaked huge quantities of gasoline into the
07:30ground. This gasoline seeped down and entered the sewer and water systems. Gasoline had flowed
07:38through the sewers until it reached a siphon through which it could not pass. More and more
07:44gasoline had then built up within the sewers over the course of several days. As the sewers became
07:50saturated with gasoline it was only a matter of time before a stray spark set off the explosions.
07:59Pemex, then, was indeed to blame. Four of its top officials were arrested and charged with
08:05negligence. Ultimately, though, all four were acquitted of any wrongdoing. The city mayor was
08:13also indicted, as it had been largely his decision to ignore the many complaints from residents
08:18and not to attempt an evacuation. He was forced to resign from office. Pemex itself voluntarily
08:27paid a small amount of compensation to those affected while still denying all responsibility.
08:34This left the many, many victims of the disaster with little recourse. They had lost their homes,
08:42lost limbs, lost loved ones and livelihoods, and it seemed that no real long-term help was
08:49forthcoming. Having had everything taken from them many couldn't even afford the medical treatment
08:55necessary for their injuries. The victims formed an association and campaigned to this day for
09:02better representation, more compensation, and help for those for whom the disaster still casts
09:08a long shadow. Even almost 30 years on many survivors still suffer the consequences of
09:15the events of the 22nd of April, 1992, on a daily basis. The city streets which were destroyed in
09:23the explosions have been rebuilt, a trail of incongruously modern buildings marking the route
09:29the devastating blasts took through the city. The disaster at least had the positive impact of
09:36bringing into focus the need for better monitoring of sewer systems in Mexico's cities.
09:42Now in Guadalajara and in other cities across the country sophisticated monitoring systems
09:48have been installed to keep track of any trouble which might be brewing beneath the surface.
09:53Previously companies like Pemex dumped their waste into the sewers almost with impunity. Now
10:00the disposal of waste via the sewer system is far more strictly controlled. The Guadalajara
10:06explosions transformed an entire district and many thousands of lives, and in doing so they
10:13drew attention to an often neglected part of the city. Beneath every large settlement there lies
10:19a complex network of sewers and pipelines, tunnels and transport, an underground world which must be
10:27cared for and monitored every bit as carefully as the one above the surface.