Breaking: Explosion and Fire in Building in Obarrio Neighborhood of Panama City
By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - And this just in off of the Twitter-sphere: Panama America is getting citizen's reports of an explosion that has occurred in the Obarrio neighborhood of Panama City. Supposedly there is smoke and fire coming from a building under construction on the same street as the Generali building. More details as they develop.
Update - 3:21 pm: An electrical transformer on the street level exploded and is burning. The fire department is not on the scene yet. Photo from TVN.
Update 4:30 pm: I went down and checked out the fire scene. There were three transformers on a pole that blew up and burned. They shorted and sparked, there was a "spider web" of wires all going into that pole. The insulation caught fire and the whole ball of wire went up. Power went out to the immediate area serviced by those transformers. By the time I got there the fire was out and the electrical company was already there with several bucket trucks, working to restore service. Pretty boring but it's a slow news day - when trash left behind on the "coastal strip" after a Christmas parade is making headlines.
Copyright 2011 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.
