Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 2 temporarily closed due to Piedras Negras explosion

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

On a quiet, peaceful Sunday morning of August 31, 2014, while most people were still asleep or just waking up, a loud and sudden explosion rocked the Mexican Customs Inspection Office at approximately 7:30 A.M. in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, adjacent to the City of Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 2, causing both Mexican and American authorities to temporarily close Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 2 at approximately 8 A.M. until 11 P.M. while Mexican authorities attempted to rescue severely burned victims and investigate the explosion.

The tragic explosion ripped through the interior of the Mexican Customs Inspection Office, which also doubles up as a dormitory, injuring six persons. Later in the day on Sunday, August 31st, the first fatality of this catastrophic blast, Ana Griselda Vazquez Duque, age 28, succumbed to the severe internal injuries sustained in the inferno. Another two severely burned victims were transported by air ambulance to a specialized burn hospital in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico on Sunday, August 31st, while three others remained at the Piedras Negras Social Security Hospital No. 11.

The Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 2 was temporarily closed initially by Mexican authorities at approximately 8 A.M. as they began rescue operations and investigation of the shocking and unexpected explosion. Traffic and commerce through Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 2 was temporarily closed until approximately 11 P.M., August 31st.

While Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 2 was temporarily closed, Eagle Pass International Bridge 1 remained open for traffic and commerce during the entire day of Sunday, August 31st.

American authorities were placed on alert during the temporary closure of Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 2. Since the source of the explosion was unknown on Sunday, August 31st, American authorities took precautionary measures in securing the Eagle Pass International Bridge No. 2. United States Customs and Border Protection officers were visibly seen carrying automatic M-16 rifles during the temporary closure of the bridge. No incidents were reported by American authorities during the temporary bridge closure.