Her grandmother gave her life to save her and is now returning home. Two-year-old Jazlyn Azuleth, who was injured in a gas pipe explosion in Iztapalapa in early September, has returned to Mexico after two months and five days of treatment at the Shriners Hospital in Galveston, Texas, a pediatric burn medical center. The little girl was in critical condition in the American hospital where she had been transferred after the explosion which caused 32 deaths, including the minor’s grandmother when she covered her granddaughter with her body to prevent the enormous flame from reaching her.
According to the Michou and Mau Foundation for Burned Children, Jazlyn Azuleth and her mother returned home this Friday evening by ambulance after returning from the United States. And now the little girl will begin treatment for the consequences of the accident with 25% burns on her body. The statement also expresses the gratitude of the minor’s mother for the patience and interest shown in the girl’s state of health.
The story of Jazlyn Azuleth and her grandmother Alicia Matías shocked Mexico in the days following the accident. A photo of the woman, 50, with her clothes burned, walking out of the blast zone with her granddaughter in her arms became an image of the courage of the “heroine grandmother,” as they began to call her. Matías survived the explosion but suffered more than 90% burns to his body and died a few days later in hospital. He worked as a conductor on buses that stop near the Concordia Bridge in Iztapalapa, so much so that day he was in the area where a pipe carrying 49,000 liters of liquefied petroleum gas overturned, causing a massive leak, an explosion and bursts of fire at least 30 meters high.
On the day of the accident the initial death toll was three, along with 70 injured. But the victims increased in the following days and weeks until they exceeded thirty. Among them was also the driver of the gas pipe. The recovery specialist from the Faculty of Chemistry of UNAM, Gerardo Leyva, explained to EL PAÍS why some of those affected died several days after the accident. “There are injuries that affect not only the skin, but also muscles, bones and tendons. In these cases, the patient may appear stable initially, but dies days later due to the internal severity of the burn,” he noted. “The skin regulates temperature, maintains moisture and protects against infections. Without it the body is defenseless,” he explained.
The Mexico City Prosecutor’s Office investigates the crimes of negligent injury, manslaughter and negligent property damage. The head of the capital’s department, Bertha María Alcalde, assured that the company that owns the pipe has expressed “its willingness to collaborate” and provide financial resources to cover the damages to the families.
