Victim of mass poisoning at Portuguesa high school denounces secrecy in the case
One week after the case of massive poisoning in the June 27 High School of the Turén municipality, Portuguesa state, one of the injured people assured Chronicle.One that they still do not know what substances they were exposed to on Thursday, November 7, although their blood tests would have been sent to Caracas for analysis. “There is a lot of secrecy,” he said.
That Thursday, at least 85 students were affected after inhaling an “alleged unidentified chemical substance,” the entity’s Secretary of Citizen Security, Luis Medina, reported days ago.
Three people are detained for the case of mass poisoning in Portuguesa: two minors who are students of the institution and a third person who is 18 years old, he reported Latest News on November 12. According to Medina, those involved prepared “a cocktail that they placed in a plastic spray container and then began to spray it in the educational unit.”
One of the victims who spoke with Chronicle.Oneand asked not to reveal his name for fear of reprisals, said that after inhaling the gases “my hand and face fell asleep, I really wanted to vomit, my skin became hot and many had burns, as if they had gone to the beach.” At the health center where he received medical attention, he was discharged, but his symptoms “come and go.”
The source warned that two weeks before the mass poisoning, at the Liceo 27 de Junio several students fainted on different days, and were treated at the Turén hospital. Campus staff thought it could be due to the heat in the area or because they had not had breakfast. Upon learning of the cases, the police visited the institution on Tuesday, November 5 to make inquiries, but they found nothing suspicious.
On the day of the tragedy, he added, “the people behaved too well.” After teachers and campus staff evacuated everyone, many motorized vehicles were activated to transport the victims to hospitals. Private clinics and laboratories were also put on call to deal with the emergency. He added that the Turén Mayor’s Office has been in charge of covering the medications and examinations for those affected, of which there are still several.
What has the State said about the mass poisoning in Portuguesa?
According to the VTV website, the Scientific, Criminal and Criminal Investigation Corps (Cicpc) evaluates whether the mass poisoning cases registered in Portuguesa and Barinas are related to a “viral challenge on social networks” known as chromingwhich involves inhaling toxic chemicals found in aerosol products, such as deodorants, paints, and insecticides.
“We are evaluating problems such as the management of social networks, terrorist challenges and threats, highlighting that certain sectors try to cause fear and chaos. We invite parents and representatives to be attentive to the activities of their children, since they could be used for actions that generate anxiety,” the governor of the entity said about that case and another similar one that occurred in the municipality of San Rafael de Onoto. , Primitivo Cedeño.
Poisoning case in Barinas high school
The students of Dr. Carlos María González Bona high schoollocated in the Pedraza municipality, in the state of Barinas, are receiving online classes after the mass poisoning that occurred at the institution on Tuesday, November 5. This is a measure taken by the director, until the facts are clarified.
A relative of two students on campus told Chronicle.One It is presumed that a student spilled a liquid and several classmates began to faint when they breathed in the smell that emanated. He explained that at 10:00 am that day, one of his brothers was back home, but another was still in class.
“My brother started listening when his classmates started fainting and everything became like a commotion,” he said.
The student indicated that the substance was poured into a room. He watched, from the field, as his classmates were taken from high school to the hospital. Since he was in an open area he did not suffer any reaction. “I just ran when I saw what was happening,” he told his relative. Just remember that people were screaming, fainting one after another, in a matter of minutes. He doesn’t remember some of his classmates coughing.
According to the information that circulated at that time at the school, and on the social networks of people in the community, the person responsible would have been a 3rd year high school student, who brought a bottle of formaldehyde laced with perfume and began to water it in the classrooms. The strong smell caused eight girls, two teachers and two workers, and other people who came into contact with them to faint. The VTV note referred to above, however, indicates that inside the bottle there was a “pink liquid substance”.
An ambulance transported those affected from the high school to the Pedraza hospital. Upon arriving at the health center, another group of people began to faint from the smell.
“A very close friend was one of those who had the strongest reaction to the smell. He lasted a day and a half in the hospital and, when he left, he said that he couldn’t stand the headache and that he couldn’t feel his legs. For two days he had these symptoms. Now he is much better and those who were more serious have already been discharged,” said the source.
The Pedraza municipality is located between the Barinas municipality and Antonio José de Sucre. It is a quiet area, where a large part of the people are dedicated to commerce or agricultural activity.
According to the person consulted for this article, after what happened, no one wanted to leave their homes, because they thought that many people were contaminated with the toxic smell on their clothes.
“It seemed like the town was in mourning,” he said. Nine days after this event, those affected are already feeling better.
Five similar cases of poisoning have occurred in Venezuela so far this year
So far in 2024, the country’s media have reported at least five cases of mass poisoning in educational centers in the country, in the states of Guárico, Miranda, Barinas and Portuguesa.
Sources consulted by Chronicle.One They spoke of a sixth case, also in Portuguesa, which would have occurred in a school in the Ají hamlet, on the same day as the incident recorded at the José de la Cruz Paredes National Educational Unit, in San Rafael de Onoto. However, this event has not yet been reported by the media or state officials.
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