A ride on a circuit trekking in the Torres del Paine park, in the Magallanes region, in the far south of Chile, ended with one of the worst tragedies in the history of the tourism industry in the South American country. Five hikers from Mexico, Germany and the United Kingdom died after an unexpected and violent storm hit the area, one of the most visited natural destinations in the world, last Sunday. The victims’ bodies were recovered after a complex operation in Patagonia. Survivors of the disaster were also located and assisted by local emergency services.
The causes of the fatal accident are still under investigation. The controversy focused on the actions of the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), the government body responsible for administering Chile’s national parks. Some of the travelers affected by the storm reported that there were no park rangers in the area where the tragedy occurred, which the institution admitted.
What happened on the day of the accident
The missing tourists became known on Monday, although the tragedy occurred on the afternoon of Sunday 16 November. The travelers traveled the Paine Massif Circuit, also known as the trekking of the “O”, which goes completely around the Torres del Paine park, in the midst of snowfall and strong winds that arrived suddenly and isolated them in the Perros sector. One of the first warnings about the unexpected storm was issued around 8pm on Sunday. through a Facebook group. “Please help! (Please help!),” one of the messages said, according to a publication on The third. “We are at the Los Perros camp, in Torres del Paine. There are people who climbed the John Gardner this morning and the weather has worsened drastically. There is too much snow and some people are stuck in the pass. Very strong winds, over 193 kilometers per hour. They left at 6 in the morning. We sent between 20 and 25 people to rescue the missing. We believe there are at least 5 people missing; one is now safe, but “It is unconscious. They are located between Los Perros and the top of the pass,” the text reads.
What was the cause of the travelers’ death?
Once the alert was raised, the authorities activated the protocols and began searching for the missing people. The first victim found was a Mexican man, to which was added the death of a Mexican woman who was in serious condition. The discovery of the bodies of a German woman, a German man and a British woman was reported last Tuesday. The Chilean prosecutor’s office confirmed that they all died of hypothermia.
Who were the victims
The first confirmed deaths in the tragedy were the Mexicans Cristina Calvillo Tovar and Julián García Pimentel, a couple of doctors from Guanajuato. Carlos Calvillo, Cristina’s brother, said that the couple dreamed of visiting Torres del Paine park and that they had been preparing this trip for some time. The relative also described the difficulties he encountered in obtaining the repatriation of the bodies. “Now we have no help there in Chile, because the only thing the Mexican embassy gives us is the information that they already have the bodies. But I contacted another lady from the embassy and she tells me that we basically have to hire a Chilean funeral home to do the process,” Calvillo said in an interview with Channel 13.
The other victims were the Germans Nadine Lichey – gynecologist – and Andreas Von Pein; as well as the British Victoria Bond —who worked as a public relations officer—.
The testimony of a victim before the tragedy
Some recordings of the start of the deadly circuit were archived in the victims’ social media accounts. One of them appeared on the Instagram of British Victoria Bond, who responded to a publication made last Saturday by one of her companions before starting the trip. The images show the deceased with her friends, as well as a general shot of the cold and changeable climate in the area. “Why on earth did I fly 8,000km when I could have been walking on Bodmin Moor in a light drizzle?” quips Bond’s partner, referring to the usual cold weather in his native UK. “It rained hard from the first step. The trail turned into something that looked like a tributary of the Amazon and, at one point, I’m pretty sure I saw a trout go past me. Five river crossings and only one damn bridge. I should have brought a kayak… and a priest,” he wrote. Finally, the traveler expressed his hope after the sky cleared for a moment.
What happened to the park rangers?
The tragedy has shaken the tourism sector and put the spotlight on precariousness in the management of national parks. The controversy grew after the Conaf director for the Magallanes region, Mauricio Ruiz, admitted that on the day of the tragedy there were no park rangers in the Perros sector, as the presidential and parliamentary elections on Sunday 16 November were taking place that day. “In fact, on the night between the 16th and the 17th, that day we had no personnel there. That day the officials who were in the camps, of which there are two, came down to the gates, that is, they were inside the park, to grant the right to vote,” Ruiz said in an interview with the channel. 24 hours. The organization’s national leadership released a statement Wednesday announcing an administrative investigation into the incident. “On election day, November 16, the park had a staff of 51 officials, the same number as the following day. Considering the change in weather conditions in the area and the first alerts received in the Macizo del Paine circuit, the emergency protocol was activated, which provides for the movement of officials to the site of the accident”, reads the text. The Prosecutor’s Office will summon the director of Conaf and the park rangers to testify to investigate a possible violation of the duties of the body or company Vértice, which manages the refuges.
