A terrible tragedy in the ultra-Orthodox community in Buenos Aires: A fire that broke out last night (Thursday) in a building located on Ecuador Boulevard in the Argentine capital led to the tragic deaths of five members of the Habbaz family - a well-known Haredi family in the city.
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The parents and nine children were in the Habbaz family's apartment when the fire broke out. The mother, Sophia Habbaz, 49, her daughter, Kamila, 16, Esther, 9, Orly, 8, and Rafael, 4, perished.
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The father of the family, Yitzhak, 55, was seriously injured. The children Yair, Yehezkel, Moshe and Rachel are hospitalized in moderate condition. The cousin was released from the hospital.
The father of the family, who is hospitalized, was the first to leave the apartment to try to call for help after the fire broke out and smoke spread throughout the apartment. But he was no longer able to return to rescue his family because he lost consciousness.
The fire broke out at 5:45 a.m. (local time), in an apartment on the seventh floor of the 14-story building.
Many municipal fire and rescue forces that were called to the scene had difficulty in rescue operations and controlling the fire due to the high floors where the fire raged.
The family lived on the seventh floor of the building. They were rescued from the apartment, but were unfortunately pronounced dead at the hospital. "The impossible was done to get them out of this situation, but it was impossible due to the amount of smoke they inhaled," the hospital said.
30 additional residents - 11 at the scene and 19 who were transported in 22 ambulances to six hospitals - were treated by rescue forces, including the local rescue team - whose personnel arrived first at the scene. Among those hospitalized are four children and a woman in Hario. The injured are suffering from burns and smoke inhalation of varying degrees, some in serious condition.
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- Todavía se desconoce la causa de las llamas pic.twitter.com/GmOQZ1uybL— THE NATION (@LANACION) June 23, 2022
As firefighters tried to bring the fire under control, they began rescuing residents who had gone out onto their balconies and were waving for help. "We are going floor by floor, scanning the entire building again to see if there are any more trapped people," said the fire chief.
Authorities said no additional victims were evacuated from floors above the eighth floor.
Among those evacuated to the hospital were also three police officers, due to smoke inhalation, as they were the first to arrive and evacuate the neighbors.
The AMIA organization, which unites the country's Jewish communities, tweeted on its Twitter account: "With deep sorrow, we express our condolences to the loved ones of the people who died in the terrible fire this morning, in a building on Ecuador Street. We wish a speedy recovery to those injured in this tragedy that saddens the entire society.".
The first 911 call came in at 5:45 a.m. with 11 seconds left. There were 26 calls in total. Four minutes later, according to sources from the Ministry of Justice and Security in Buenos Aires, a cell phone call came in from the city police. The uniformed officers requested the cooperation of the firefighters "as a matter of priority.".
Incendio en Recoleta: the victims of the tragedy integrated a well-known family of the Jewish community https://t.co/atLh4m4lgI pic.twitter.com/xRw3cIDjcf
— THE NATION (@LANACION) June 23, 2022
Between 5:49:23 and 5:50:12, two more patrol cars arrived. Police officers began evacuating the building. City fire crews arrived at the scene of the fire at 5:52:16.
""The fire started on the seventh floor and spread to the eighth. It was recorded in an area of three meters by ten meters, covering the kitchen, three bedrooms and a bathroom," police sources said.
The fire also damaged the living room of the apartment on the eighth floor. The other apartments were only affected by smoke and broken glass.
The mayor said: "First of all, I want to express my condolences to the relatives of the deceased, a very difficult and difficult situation. A minute later, the city police were present, seven minutes later the firefighters arrived and did their job as usual, giving up their lives. Congratulations again for the commitment and dedication you show. I want to emphasize the commitment of the entire emergency team, to risk their lives for others and for the good of the community.".
