The damaged supermarket was part of a supermarket chain called "Ycuá Bolaños" that operated from the late 1980s until part of the 2000s, with the Botánico "V" branch being the last and most modern of the chain.

The name of these establishments comes from "Ykuá" (Castilianized as Ycuá) —which in Guaraní means "water well"— and "Bolaños", which is the surname of a Franciscan missionary (a saint, according to tradition) who arrived from Spain in colonial times. It is in Caazapá (birthplace of Juan Pío Paiva, founder of the supermarket chain) where the Ycuá Bolaños sanctuary is located, and it is popular opinion that the water from its spring has healing properties. While "Botanical" came from the proximity to the Botanical Garden of Asunción.

In 1997, Ycuá Bolaños went from being a single convenience store to becoming a supermarket chain when the Joint Stock Company was formed between the Paiva family and members of the consulting company Casaccia-Burgos Auditores, with the opening of the second location of Ycuá Bolaños (Multiplaza), calling the company "Ycuá Bolaños Industrial y Comercial S.A."

The plans for the building where the fire occurred were approved on June 26, 2001 and the work was completed on November 30 of that same year. It was inaugurated three years before the fire, on December 7, 2001, located on Artigas Avenues "Avenida Artigas (Asunción)") and Santísima Trinidad de Asunción, being one of the most modern in the chain and even in the city at that time. It covered an area of ​​12,000 square meters, had space for more than 1,000 people, parking for more than 350 vehicles, as well as offices and a restaurant.

The opening license for the premises was granted by the authorities of the municipality of Asunción in January 2002, although the final safety prevention inspection was never carried out, neither by municipal authorities nor by firefighters, as stipulated by the municipal ordinance of the time.

First signs of fire and subsequent explosion

The first sign of flames appeared around 9:00 in the morning - the moment when the fire was lit to prepare the midday barbecue - when the sparks caused by it began to catch fire inside the restaurant's chimney, due to the accumulation of grease, charcoal and smoke in it, adding to the accumulated heat - especially on the "elbow" of the chimney (which had the exit to the outside in the shape of an "S") - expanding above the ceiling to the shed.

The fire began to spread slowly across the entire ceiling—which did not have ventilation or wind extractors—causing a small explosion when it encountered the vapors emitted by the bakery's electric ovens an hour and a half after the first sign of flames. This small explosion did not go unnoticed, although it was only known to some employees of the premises.[10]​.

Around 11:20 a.m., the pressure caused by the spread of the fire increased within the ceiling, at which time the gradual detachment of the ceiling panels occurred and with it a "sudden" entry of oxygen, which facilitated combustion and spread the fire in a "rapid and violent" manner in several directions, burning and exploding in its path the different types of fuel (aerosols, bottles, refrigerators, vehicles). parked cars, etc.), in turn causing the effects of Backdraft and Flashover, which caused the death of people in seconds. Due to these unusual effects, people who were close to the source of the explosion were instantly incinerated.

The place was completely packed at this time, approximately 800 to 1000 people, since it was Sunday and many people would have received their salaries at the end of the month. Likewise, the Food Court was full because Friendship Day was celebrated (in Paraguay it is originally celebrated on July 30).

Closing of the doors and arrival of the firefighters

This caused a stampede towards the exits during which the premises filled with smoke and a blackout (power outage) occurred. Upon reaching the doors, the buyers discovered that they were closed, so they could not escape, leaving them all locked in a large funeral pyre. According to the press and the statements made during the criminal process, the doors were closed by orders from superiors, in order not to let anyone leave without paying for the supermarket's goods - although according to the owners - they flatly deny the order.

According to the accused, Juan Pío Paiva and his son Víctor Daniel, the person who apparently gave the order was the manager Vicente Ruiz, who was the highest authority of the premises in the absence of the Paiva, but who had died in the fire. It was found that both were not in the premises at the time of the fire. Other close sources refer to the fact that at that time, the closing of doors in certain commercial premises - in case of blackouts or incidents -, such as that of Ycuá Bolaños, was already a pre-established order, to avoid looting. The latter was what prosecutor Edgar Sánchez maintained to formulate his accusation.[11]​.

A firefighter from the Second Company (Trinidad), Juan Valiente, was the first to arrive at the scene of the fire. He was in civilian clothes when he saw the enormous black smoke that emerged from the Ycuá Bolaños. He tried to prevent the doors from closing, but the store's security guard fired his firearm into the air twice to make him move away. From there, the rescue work did not stop in the first minutes. These were carried out by volunteer firefighters, police and civilians, and later joined by lifeguards and the military.

Rescue and transfer of injured people. Fire extinguishing.

The first Asunción Firefighters team that arrived at the scene entered through the parking lot entrance of the premises with the aim of searching for possible victims. The second unit, with the help of police and civilians, was able to open a hole in the glass wall that led laterally to a ramp. This gap was the main access that firefighters could have had for the rescue, since the amount of dense smoke coming out of the parking lot prevented access and the rescue of victims. For its part, the second crew worked hard through the hole, managing to rescue several people, including local officials and children. This was confirmed by the driver of one of the first mobile phones in the place, Carlos Samaniego. This ramp was the place with the most bodies piled up.

Firefighter Eris Cabrera described it as a true hell and that firefighters had to make their way through hundreds of charred bodies in search of more living victims. The bodies were taken to the "Tropiclub" nightclub, located right in front of the damaged premises, which at that time functioned as a temporary morgue, for the recognition of the victims. During the course of the afternoon and evening, the still unrecognized bodies were transferred to the old headquarters of the Cavalry.

Hours after the start of the fire, the Ministry of Defense "Ministerio de Defensa Nacional (Paraguay)") sent a contingent of soldiers to clear the area. The area continued to be dangerous, since although the fire was being controlled, the building was at risk of collapsing, as was a huge antenna that was on its roof. In addition, more explosions could occur, since inside there were several gas bottles and other flammable elements that were causing new explosions and, consequently, more fatalities.[14]​.

Despite all the difficulties encountered, many victims were rescued and transported alive in patrol cars and private vans, since the available ambulances could not cope. The entire rescue process lasted several hours. To extinguish the fire, the participation of more than fifty vehicles and more than 1,000 firefighters was necessary, who were helped, in turn, by members of the army and police, including firefighters from the Province of Formosa, Argentina.[15] The complete extinction of the fire took about 8 hours; and the first injured were referred to different hospitals in the capital and surrounding areas, which were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the tragedy.

Many people were rescued alive from bathrooms and tanks that served as shelter from heat and fire. Some were rescued inside refrigerators. According to the testimony of some survivors, the bathroom where they were sheltered had showers and with that they were able to suffocate the intense heat. According to the conclusions of the fire department, this case exceeded all emergency protocols, due to the number of victims and the magnitude of the incident. Although many decisions were made by instinct, the training that the staff had on structural fire safety was very helpful in responding to the emergency. No fire department officers died during the rescue efforts; although some had to be hospitalized for minor poisoning.[16]​.

First repercussions

A few hours after the fire started, multiple accusations indicated that the owners of the supermarket had ordered the doors to be closed to prevent theft, without considering the serious situation that was being experienced. In the early afternoon, the number of deaths had already risen to 75, while during the course of the afternoon the National Police of Paraguay reported that this number exceeded 150. In the evening, around 8:00 p.m., it was unofficially reported that the number of deaths exceeded 300. The president at the time, Nicanor Duarte Frutos, decreed three days of national mourning, during which the flags remained half-hearted. antler.[17]​.

Throughout that August 1, the 911 telephone service—which had been enabled a year before—was overwhelmed by so many calls for help and then to request information about their relatives. The Ministry of Education and Culture "Ministry of Education and Sciences (Paraguay)") decided to suspend classes on Monday, August 2. Likewise, the Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay suspended judicial activities for the next day.[18]​ The day after the tragedy, a significant number of bodies were rescued. The facilities of the damaged Ycuá Bolaños supermarket were unsuccessfully searched several times by officials from the Judicial Investigation Center and Volunteer Firefighters at the request of the relatives of the missing.

To measure the magnitude of the fire, more than 100 corpses were practically unrecognizable due to the severity of the burns, to the point of leaving a large part of their bodies in ashes, so they had to be identified through DNA, fingerprint and dental tests, tests sent to Spain, since Paraguay did not have the capacity to carry out these tests at that time.[19] Several of them were even buried and smoked without being recognized, only by means of a code granted by the Prosecutor's Office. To date, six people are listed as missing in the records (four women and two men), of whom their remains have never been found.

The international press quickly covered the tragedy, which was one of the largest at its time. At that time, it was even said that the number of deaths was much higher than 400, and some media outlets even estimated it was almost 500, which later turned out to be clear errors in the counting of the list of deaths. Many countries offered their help to the Government of Paraguay to alleviate the tragedy.

The tragedy led to the collapse of the cemeteries in the city of Asunción and surrounding areas, where cemeteries were "borrowed" and even common graves were dug to bury dozens of bodies, several of them unidentified.[20] Likewise, the tragedy led to the collapse of the Paraguayan health system, especially in the metropolitan area of Asunción due to the number of injured and survivors who required hospitalization, so at the request of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, ordered the donation of 30 to 50 mechanical respirators"),[21]​ while Argentina, by order of President Néstor Kirchner, ordered the sending of a Hercules plane with inputs, supplies, and medical personnel a few hours after the disaster, in the same way that it made 50 ICU beds and 200 clinical hospitalization beds available to Paraguay, to overcome the excess demand.[22]​ Chile, for its part, by order of President Ricardo Lagos, made available a field hospital, medical supplies and doctors and nurses specializing in burns from the Burned Child Aid Corporation. Other countries, such as the United States, Spain, Cuba, France, Belgium, Germany, among others, sent medical professionals, beds and medicines, to meet the demand.[23]​[24]​.

Investigation of the causes

In the first days after the fire, the reasons why the fire started was still in doubt, due to the rarity of the case since it apparently did not follow any conventional parameters in this type of disaster, according to US FBI agents and special agents from the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Some possibilities that were considered were the explosion of jugs in the kitchen of the Food Court, explosion of the liquid gas system, short circuit near flammable material, even a terrorist attack by means of a car bomb (taking into account the recent attacks, such as the one on September 11, 2001 against the Twin Towers in New York, or the one that occurred on March 11 of that same year in Madrid - just four months before the tragedy of the Ycuá Bolaños—). However, over the course of days, specialists from Paraguay and foreigners such as Chile, Argentina, Europe and the United States agreed that the tragedy was an "accident", thus finally ruling out an attack - meaning arson.[25]​.

Expert reports later described it as "a time bomb".[26]​ According to these reports and statements to the press by one of the defense lawyers of the owners of the firm, it was established that "Three of the ducts from the grill, the bakery, the confectionery and the rotisserie, did not go outside. Which means that there was a large amount of smoke and gases that, since the opening of the supermarket, were accumulating in the chamber that was formed between the ceiling and the roof of the building that allowed a gas accumulation of 9,000 cubic meters".[6]​.

By not having measures to extract the highly flammable material accumulated in the premises, it ended up becoming a death trap. Despite the above, the municipality affirms that in the plans the facility had a fire alarm (which was not activated), fire extinguishers, sprinklers, signage and other preventive measures in case of fire or emergency.

The fire was the result of a set of factors that tragically coincided, such as the lack of maintenance and cleaning of the chimneys, a design error in the construction (an "S"-shaped chimney, which facilitated the accumulation of polluting elements and in turn an increase in temperature), the roof was covered with polyurethane (flammable), false chimneys, and the absence of wind extractors. Furthermore, the damaged Ycuá Bolaños was enabled without the necessary final inspection by municipal authorities or firefighters.[27]​.

Shortly before the tragedy, some employees had already reported that there were several beginnings of fire that did not escalate, it was only known to some employees of the premises, presumably due to the same factors that later led to the tragedy. [28]​.

At that time there were large gaps in the regulations regarding fire prevention for large spaces such as Ycuá Bolaños, since the ordinance on fire prevention dated back to 1987 - a time when shopping malls, hypermarkets or large shopping centers did not yet exist as they did in 2004. Other factors were: Insufficient and inadequate emergency exits since they were short and could not open outwards as stipulated by regulations, negligence on the part of the owners of the premises and the competent authorities, among others.[29]​.

Closing and sale of the chain

Due to this tragedy, the popularity of the Ycuá Bolaños supermarket chain greatly decreased.[30]​ Even, on November 18, 2004, strikingly only three months after the fire at the Ycuá Bolaños "Botánico", the other location of the Ycuá Bolaños chain, the MultiPlaza branch (located near Shopping MultiPlaza—now Salemma MultiPlaza—) recorded a fire beginning in the supermarket's food court that was instantly suffocated due to acting in time, which further generated the distrust of its clients.[31]​.

Finally two years later, in 2006, the chain, which had been working "at a loss" due to the unpopularity of its stores, closed its doors and was subsequently sold to the company Salemma S.A. who acquires two Ycuá Bolaños premises, putting an end to the Ycuá Bolaños public limited company made up of the Paiva family and members of the consulting company Casaccia-Burgos Auditores.

The only store that remained with the name, which was Ycuá Bolaños I (El Progreso), became independent for a few years, and then changed its name and company name in 2009, definitively extinguishing the name of Ycuá Bolaños as a supermarket.

First accusations and preliminary hearing

The Prosecutor's Office quickly requested the arrest and preventive detention of the owners and guards of the premises, as well as the preventive seizure of Gs. 60 billion (more than 10 million US dollars, for eventual compensation to the victims on the civil side.[32]​ The guards and owners of the premises were detained and arrested by order of the prosecutor's office on August 2, 2004, charged with “aggravated intentional homicide”, with an assigned sentence of up to 25 years in prison;[33]​ although during the course of the case, they were benefited several times from prison home; causing the indignation of relatives and victims of the fire, producing successive demonstrations.[34] Other defendants—in addition to the Paiva—were the members of the board María Victoria Cáceres de Paiva, Antolina Burgos de Casaccia, Agustín Alfonzo Martínez, Guillermo Alfonso Segovia, Humberto Casaccia Romagni, and the guards Daniel Areco, Jorge Daniel Penayo Ojeda, Eder Sánchez Martinetti and Ismael Alcaraz.

In the days and months after the fire, several demonstrations and protests were held at the home of the owners of the premises, and even that of the competent authorities - such as Judges (such as Elio Ovelar, Manuel Aguirre, Augusto Melo[35]​), prosecutors (such as Teresa Sosa, who was removed from the case a month after the fire after insinuating that she would accuse of manslaughter because the doors were open for her[36]​), municipal authorities such as Enrique Riera and Martín Burt (mayor and former mayor of Asunción respectively)—, among others; and in front of the other supermarkets that were still operating from the Ycuá Bolaños chain at that time, in a protest asking for justice.

The owners, shareholders and guards of the premises were accused by the Public Ministry "Ministerio Público (Paraguay)") at the end of December 2004, as well as the architect of the premises - accused in April 2005 - and the competent municipal officials - accused in April 2006 -. All of them were finally convicted in 2008, although the case was divided into three parts, each with different sentences.

On April 11, 2005, the criminal judge of first instance of Lambaré Ramón Augusto Melo Suárez signed a resolution ordering house arrest in favor of Juan Pío Paiva; However, the next day he revoked his resolution and ordered Paiva's transfer to the Police Hospital, because he had health problems, and then returned to the Tacumbú prison. A few days later, the Judge strikingly presented his resignation from office.[37] The case was handed over to the judge of guarantees Rubén Riquelme. From June 13 to 17, 2005, the preliminary hearing was held against the owners, shareholders and guards of the premises at the Club Sol de América sports center "Club Sol de América (Asunción)").[38]

In summary, the owner of the firm Juan Pío Paiva, his son Víctor Daniel Paiva, the guard Daniel Areco, as well as the architect of the premises and the competent municipal officials were prosecuted by the courts of Paraguay, in the investigation carried out by the prosecutor's office. The initial investigation was, in the first part (which investigated the owners and guards of the premises) that by order of Juan Paiva, instructions endorsed by his son Víctor, and carried out by the guard Areco - the only one duly identified by witnesses - the doors of the premises were closed causing many people who could escape and save themselves, ending up dying inside the premises. However, the prosecution ended up accusing on the basis that there was a "pre-established" order, and therefore, a homicide with possible intent, and not directly intended, but indirectly.

The first failed oral and public trial of 2006

After a long investigation, an extensive trial was held that lasted more than four months at a military sports venue. The court - composed of judges Manuel Aguirre, Elio Ovelar and María Doddy Báez - handed down its ruling on December 5, 2006, in which two of the judges - both Aguirre and Ovelar - found that the prosecution failed to prove the intentional participation of the accused, leaving them only responsible as perpetrators of "wrongful homicide", which has a maximum penalty of 5 years.[39]​ While the last judge was reading the reasons for his decision, the relatives of the victims caused serious disorders when they considered that the sentences for the death of almost 400 people were very low, jumping from their seats and throwing the chairs against the judges, not completing the reading of the sentence.

The protests left the place where the trial was being held to concentrate on the headquarters of the Ycuá Bolaños company, where the police intervened, leaving more than 60 detainees and 49 injured to varying degrees. These massive protests continued for several days, during which even President Nicanor Duarte declared that the sentences were too low.

However, for the victims there was no sentence since the judges' decision was not fully read and the process was interrupted before its conclusion. The Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay admitted this thesis by rejecting the unconstitutionality appeals against the resolution that removed Judges Elio Ovelar and Manuel Aguirre from the case - who were in favor of classifying the event as manslaughter, but not Judge Dody Báez, who considered that the event constituted intentional homicide -, maintaining that there was no arbitrariness or violation of constitutional guarantees. Said resolution of the Supreme Court of Justice gave way for a new trial to be held.[41]​.

Annulment and postponement of the sentence

Due to the innumerable inhibitions and challenges of the capital's magistrates, the case was passed to magistrates from the interior of the country, specifically from the department of Paraguarí, something unusual in the legal environment. Finally, the court was installed and on August 8, 2007, the trial hearing began.

However, the defense requested that the nature of the trial be determined, that is, whether the previous one was annulled or that one is being continued and, because the court ordered that the incidents would be resolved at the end of the hearing, the defense of Víctor Paiva and others presented a request for recusal against the judges, based on an alleged previous opinion on the annulment of the trial, which caused the suspension of the hearing, which generated regret among the victims.[42]​[43]​ The victims protested this delay, demanding the continuity of the process.[44]​ While the dilatory incidents were being resolved, the sentencing court in the case denied a request for freedom that Juan Pío Paiva had presented.[45]​[46]​.

The trial restarted on August 31, 2007, continuing the debates on the type of homicide caused during the tragedy.[47]​ Due to a previous incident raised by the defense, the sentencing court finally determined that a new trial was being held that cannot be understood as a double jeopardy[48]​ since the previous trial was null and void for not having concluded.[49]​.

On September 7 of the same year, Víctor Daniel Paiva regained his freedom, but with imposed restrictions.[50]​[51]​ Given this, organizations supporting the victims of the fire demonstrated against this measure, both at the headquarters of the Judiciary and in front of the only location that still belonged to the Ycuá Bolaños chain.[52]​[53]​[54]​ On September 10, 2007, Juan Pío Paiva regained his freedom. freedom.[55]​[56]​ The victims continued to demonstrate against these measures.[57]​.

Closing of debate and beginning of deliberations

On January 9, 2008, the Trial Court ended the trial debate and ordered the beginning of deliberations on the case, announcing that the full and complete reading of the sentence would only be given on February 2 of the same year, arguing that the complexity of the case required a long and careful analysis.[58]​.

Days before the reading of the trial, the Court issued various security measures, including establishing a security perimeter of three hundred meters where the prohibition of all public demonstrations was ordered. The victims protested against this security measure, describing it as exaggerated, since the constitutional order of Paraguay would not allow this type of judicial measures.[59]​[60][61]​ Subsequently, the victims called for a vigil for all Paraguayan citizens, with more than forty citizen and social organizations joining in.[62]​.

The victims' expectations were to obtain a sentence for intentional homicide until there would be "justice for the case." Felipe Palacios, survivor of the fire and who lost his three young daughters, told Última Hora "Última Hora (Paraguay)") that.

For her part, Francisca Giménez, who lost her daughter and three grandchildren, expressed "I trust that justice will be done and that the accused will be given an exemplary sentence." Meanwhile, on January 31, the Paraguayan press announced that the Sentencing Court would suspend the reading of the sentence if security measures were violated.[64]​.

final sentence

Both the national and international press gathered to hear the ruling in the case.[65]​ The reading of the sentence began at 9:00, Paraguay time (13:00 UTC) on the morning of February 2, 2008.[66][67]​.

After the presentation of the required arguments, in which some of the victims' relatives fainted,[68]​ the Sentencing Court, made up of judges Germán Torres, Blas Cabriza and Bibiana Benítez, determined that the main defendants: Juan Pío Paiva, Víctor Daniel Paiva and Daniel Areco, were guilty of "simple intentional homicide" due to possible intent),[69]​ "attempted intentional homicide aggravated" and "exposure of people to dangerous workplaces" (the first two legally related crimes and the third in reference to the conditions of the damaged building), which meant a sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison according to the Paraguayan Penal Code and its modifications at that time.

The prosecutor's investigation determined that by order of Juan Pío Paiva, instructions endorsed by his son Víctor Daniel, the doors of the premises were closed, causing the tragedy, with the guard Daniel Areco being identified as one of those who carried out "the order" to close one of the doors.

Humberto Casaccia was the only member of the company's board of directors, apart from the Paiva, who was convicted. [70] Since the case was divided into 3 parts, the following convicted in the first part were sentenced to the following penalties:

• - Juan Pío Paiva (owner): 12 years in prison: Intentional homicide in an eventual degree. Exposure of people to dangerous workplaces.

• - Víctor Daniel Paiva (co-owner): 10 years in prison: Intentional homicide in an eventual degree.

• - Daniel Areco (guard): 5 years in prison: Intentional homicide in an eventual degree.

• - Humberto Casaccia (shareholder): 2 years and 6 months in prison: Exposure of people to dangerous workplaces.

Areco, having served 2/3 of his sentence, was now able to request his conditional release.[71]​

The following were acquitted in this process: María Victoria Cáceres de Paiva (spouse of Juan Pío and shareholder of the company), Antolina Burgos de Casaccia (spouse of Humberto) and Agustín Alfonso (member of the business board), and several guards of the premises – who were under preventive detention for a few months – because only Areco was duly identified by witnesses as having closed one of the doors.

On the other hand, the sentence expressly provided that the convicted persons would not go to jail until the sentence was final (a fact that took months since it would be appealed).[72]​ The victims, although they admitted that it was a victory that the conviction for intentional homicide was achieved (something obtained due to the pressure they exerted, according to them), expressed their total disappointment and rejection of the light sentences and the benefits that the victims obtained. condemned.[71]​[73]​[74]​[75]​[76]​.

The president at the time, Nicanor Duarte Frutos, decreed three days of national mourning, during which the flags remained at half-mast.[17] This tragedy occurred shortly before the tragic fire at the República Cromañón nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which occurred on December 30, 2004, which reinforced the demand for control by municipal organizations in all South American countries regarding security in access areas. public.

The lack of a reliable judicial process and the immensity of the human tragedy have caused new victims among the family members and survivors of the tragedy, because many of them contract psychosomatic illnesses, physical-mental health complications, die from heart attacks, or commit suicide due to depression.[86][87]​.

Although a criminal conviction was obtained, with several years in prison for the Paiva mainly - thanks to the pressure exerted by the victims and relatives of the tragedy - in the civil sphere, many victims and their relatives lost their trials and were left without receiving compensation, others even losing their assets to be able to pay lawyers' fees.[88]​.

• - Cinematographic documentary "Paraguay was news" by Ricardo Álvarez. 88 min. Year 2008.

• - Book "The Tragedy of Ycuá Bolaños" by Karin Becker.

• - Book "Transcendence" by Verónica Becker.

• - Book "Ycuá Bolaños: Story of a survivor" by Rossana Cristaldo and Marta Roa.

• - Book "1A: I'm alive to tell the tale" by Gloria Morel.

• - List of non-forest fires.

• - Volunteer Fire Department of Paraguay.

• - Juan Pío Paiva.

• - Victor Daniel Paiva.

• - Ycuá Bolaños.

• - Almacén Vida Fire (1958).

• - Cro-Magnon Tragedy (2004).

• - Twin Towers attacks (2001).

• - Madrid attack (2004).

• - Kiss nightclub tragedy (2013).

• - Chapecoense tragedy (2016).

• - Paraguay was in the news (2008 documentary).

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire.

• - Official site of the company.

• - Ycuá Bolaños Case on the site of the Judiciary of Paraguay.

• - Site of the Victim Organizations of the Ycua Bolaños.

• - Ycua Bolaños: Report from the Asunción Firefighters Archived November 29, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.

The damaged supermarket was part of a supermarket chain called "Ycuá Bolaños" that operated from the late 1980s until part of the 2000s, with the Botánico "V" branch being the last and most modern of the chain.

The name of these establishments comes from "Ykuá" (Castilianized as Ycuá) —which in Guaraní means "water well"— and "Bolaños", which is the surname of a Franciscan missionary (a saint, according to tradition) who arrived from Spain in colonial times. It is in Caazapá (birthplace of Juan Pío Paiva, founder of the supermarket chain) where the Ycuá Bolaños sanctuary is located, and it is popular opinion that the water from its spring has healing properties. While "Botanical" came from the proximity to the Botanical Garden of Asunción.

In 1997, Ycuá Bolaños went from being a single convenience store to becoming a supermarket chain when the Joint Stock Company was formed between the Paiva family and members of the consulting company Casaccia-Burgos Auditores, with the opening of the second location of Ycuá Bolaños (Multiplaza), calling the company "Ycuá Bolaños Industrial y Comercial S.A."

The plans for the building where the fire occurred were approved on June 26, 2001 and the work was completed on November 30 of that same year. It was inaugurated three years before the fire, on December 7, 2001, located on Artigas Avenues "Avenida Artigas (Asunción)") and Santísima Trinidad de Asunción, being one of the most modern in the chain and even in the city at that time. It covered an area of ​​12,000 square meters, had space for more than 1,000 people, parking for more than 350 vehicles, as well as offices and a restaurant.

The opening license for the premises was granted by the authorities of the municipality of Asunción in January 2002, although the final safety prevention inspection was never carried out, neither by municipal authorities nor by firefighters, as stipulated by the municipal ordinance of the time.

First signs of fire and subsequent explosion

The first sign of flames appeared around 9:00 in the morning - the moment when the fire was lit to prepare the midday barbecue - when the sparks caused by it began to catch fire inside the restaurant's chimney, due to the accumulation of grease, charcoal and smoke in it, adding to the accumulated heat - especially on the "elbow" of the chimney (which had the exit to the outside in the shape of an "S") - expanding above the ceiling to the shed.

The fire began to spread slowly across the entire ceiling—which did not have ventilation or wind extractors—causing a small explosion when it encountered the vapors emitted by the bakery's electric ovens an hour and a half after the first sign of flames. This small explosion did not go unnoticed, although it was only known to some employees of the premises.[10]​.

Around 11:20 a.m., the pressure caused by the spread of the fire increased within the ceiling, at which time the gradual detachment of the ceiling panels occurred and with it a "sudden" entry of oxygen, which facilitated combustion and spread the fire in a "rapid and violent" manner in several directions, burning and exploding in its path the different types of fuel (aerosols, bottles, refrigerators, vehicles). parked cars, etc.), in turn causing the effects of Backdraft and Flashover, which caused the death of people in seconds. Due to these unusual effects, people who were close to the source of the explosion were instantly incinerated.

The place was completely packed at this time, approximately 800 to 1000 people, since it was Sunday and many people would have received their salaries at the end of the month. Likewise, the Food Court was full because Friendship Day was celebrated (in Paraguay it is originally celebrated on July 30).

Closing of the doors and arrival of the firefighters

This caused a stampede towards the exits during which the premises filled with smoke and a blackout (power outage) occurred. Upon reaching the doors, the buyers discovered that they were closed, so they could not escape, leaving them all locked in a large funeral pyre. According to the press and the statements made during the criminal process, the doors were closed by orders from superiors, in order not to let anyone leave without paying for the supermarket's goods - although according to the owners - they flatly deny the order.

According to the accused, Juan Pío Paiva and his son Víctor Daniel, the person who apparently gave the order was the manager Vicente Ruiz, who was the highest authority of the premises in the absence of the Paiva, but who had died in the fire. It was found that both were not in the premises at the time of the fire. Other close sources refer to the fact that at that time, the closing of doors in certain commercial premises - in case of blackouts or incidents -, such as that of Ycuá Bolaños, was already a pre-established order, to avoid looting. The latter was what prosecutor Edgar Sánchez maintained to formulate his accusation.[11]​.

A firefighter from the Second Company (Trinidad), Juan Valiente, was the first to arrive at the scene of the fire. He was in civilian clothes when he saw the enormous black smoke that emerged from the Ycuá Bolaños. He tried to prevent the doors from closing, but the store's security guard fired his firearm into the air twice to make him move away. From there, the rescue work did not stop in the first minutes. These were carried out by volunteer firefighters, police and civilians, and later joined by lifeguards and the military.

Rescue and transfer of injured people. Fire extinguishing.

The first Asunción Firefighters team that arrived at the scene entered through the parking lot entrance of the premises with the aim of searching for possible victims. The second unit, with the help of police and civilians, was able to open a hole in the glass wall that led laterally to a ramp. This gap was the main access that firefighters could have had for the rescue, since the amount of dense smoke coming out of the parking lot prevented access and the rescue of victims. For its part, the second crew worked hard through the hole, managing to rescue several people, including local officials and children. This was confirmed by the driver of one of the first mobile phones in the place, Carlos Samaniego. This ramp was the place with the most bodies piled up.

Firefighter Eris Cabrera described it as a true hell and that firefighters had to make their way through hundreds of charred bodies in search of more living victims. The bodies were taken to the "Tropiclub" nightclub, located right in front of the damaged premises, which at that time functioned as a temporary morgue, for the recognition of the victims. During the course of the afternoon and evening, the still unrecognized bodies were transferred to the old headquarters of the Cavalry.

Hours after the start of the fire, the Ministry of Defense "Ministerio de Defensa Nacional (Paraguay)") sent a contingent of soldiers to clear the area. The area continued to be dangerous, since although the fire was being controlled, the building was at risk of collapsing, as was a huge antenna that was on its roof. In addition, more explosions could occur, since inside there were several gas bottles and other flammable elements that were causing new explosions and, consequently, more fatalities.[14]​.

Despite all the difficulties encountered, many victims were rescued and transported alive in patrol cars and private vans, since the available ambulances could not cope. The entire rescue process lasted several hours. To extinguish the fire, the participation of more than fifty vehicles and more than 1,000 firefighters was necessary, who were helped, in turn, by members of the army and police, including firefighters from the Province of Formosa, Argentina.[15] The complete extinction of the fire took about 8 hours; and the first injured were referred to different hospitals in the capital and surrounding areas, which were overwhelmed by the magnitude of the tragedy.

Many people were rescued alive from bathrooms and tanks that served as shelter from heat and fire. Some were rescued inside refrigerators. According to the testimony of some survivors, the bathroom where they were sheltered had showers and with that they were able to suffocate the intense heat. According to the conclusions of the fire department, this case exceeded all emergency protocols, due to the number of victims and the magnitude of the incident. Although many decisions were made by instinct, the training that the staff had on structural fire safety was very helpful in responding to the emergency. No fire department officers died during the rescue efforts; although some had to be hospitalized for minor poisoning.[16]​.

First repercussions

A few hours after the fire started, multiple accusations indicated that the owners of the supermarket had ordered the doors to be closed to prevent theft, without considering the serious situation that was being experienced. In the early afternoon, the number of deaths had already risen to 75, while during the course of the afternoon the National Police of Paraguay reported that this number exceeded 150. In the evening, around 8:00 p.m., it was unofficially reported that the number of deaths exceeded 300. The president at the time, Nicanor Duarte Frutos, decreed three days of national mourning, during which the flags remained half-hearted. antler.[17]​.

Throughout that August 1, the 911 telephone service—which had been enabled a year before—was overwhelmed by so many calls for help and then to request information about their relatives. The Ministry of Education and Culture "Ministry of Education and Sciences (Paraguay)") decided to suspend classes on Monday, August 2. Likewise, the Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay suspended judicial activities for the next day.[18]​ The day after the tragedy, a significant number of bodies were rescued. The facilities of the damaged Ycuá Bolaños supermarket were unsuccessfully searched several times by officials from the Judicial Investigation Center and Volunteer Firefighters at the request of the relatives of the missing.

To measure the magnitude of the fire, more than 100 corpses were practically unrecognizable due to the severity of the burns, to the point of leaving a large part of their bodies in ashes, so they had to be identified through DNA, fingerprint and dental tests, tests sent to Spain, since Paraguay did not have the capacity to carry out these tests at that time.[19] Several of them were even buried and smoked without being recognized, only by means of a code granted by the Prosecutor's Office. To date, six people are listed as missing in the records (four women and two men), of whom their remains have never been found.

The international press quickly covered the tragedy, which was one of the largest at its time. At that time, it was even said that the number of deaths was much higher than 400, and some media outlets even estimated it was almost 500, which later turned out to be clear errors in the counting of the list of deaths. Many countries offered their help to the Government of Paraguay to alleviate the tragedy.

The tragedy led to the collapse of the cemeteries in the city of Asunción and surrounding areas, where cemeteries were "borrowed" and even common graves were dug to bury dozens of bodies, several of them unidentified.[20] Likewise, the tragedy led to the collapse of the Paraguayan health system, especially in the metropolitan area of Asunción due to the number of injured and survivors who required hospitalization, so at the request of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the president of Brazil, Lula da Silva, ordered the donation of 30 to 50 mechanical respirators"),[21]​ while Argentina, by order of President Néstor Kirchner, ordered the sending of a Hercules plane with inputs, supplies, and medical personnel a few hours after the disaster, in the same way that it made 50 ICU beds and 200 clinical hospitalization beds available to Paraguay, to overcome the excess demand.[22]​ Chile, for its part, by order of President Ricardo Lagos, made available a field hospital, medical supplies and doctors and nurses specializing in burns from the Burned Child Aid Corporation. Other countries, such as the United States, Spain, Cuba, France, Belgium, Germany, among others, sent medical professionals, beds and medicines, to meet the demand.[23]​[24]​.

Investigation of the causes

In the first days after the fire, the reasons why the fire started was still in doubt, due to the rarity of the case since it apparently did not follow any conventional parameters in this type of disaster, according to US FBI agents and special agents from the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Some possibilities that were considered were the explosion of jugs in the kitchen of the Food Court, explosion of the liquid gas system, short circuit near flammable material, even a terrorist attack by means of a car bomb (taking into account the recent attacks, such as the one on September 11, 2001 against the Twin Towers in New York, or the one that occurred on March 11 of that same year in Madrid - just four months before the tragedy of the Ycuá Bolaños—). However, over the course of days, specialists from Paraguay and foreigners such as Chile, Argentina, Europe and the United States agreed that the tragedy was an "accident", thus finally ruling out an attack - meaning arson.[25]​.

Expert reports later described it as "a time bomb".[26]​ According to these reports and statements to the press by one of the defense lawyers of the owners of the firm, it was established that "Three of the ducts from the grill, the bakery, the confectionery and the rotisserie, did not go outside. Which means that there was a large amount of smoke and gases that, since the opening of the supermarket, were accumulating in the chamber that was formed between the ceiling and the roof of the building that allowed a gas accumulation of 9,000 cubic meters".[6]​.

By not having measures to extract the highly flammable material accumulated in the premises, it ended up becoming a death trap. Despite the above, the municipality affirms that in the plans the facility had a fire alarm (which was not activated), fire extinguishers, sprinklers, signage and other preventive measures in case of fire or emergency.

The fire was the result of a set of factors that tragically coincided, such as the lack of maintenance and cleaning of the chimneys, a design error in the construction (an "S"-shaped chimney, which facilitated the accumulation of polluting elements and in turn an increase in temperature), the roof was covered with polyurethane (flammable), false chimneys, and the absence of wind extractors. Furthermore, the damaged Ycuá Bolaños was enabled without the necessary final inspection by municipal authorities or firefighters.[27]​.

Shortly before the tragedy, some employees had already reported that there were several beginnings of fire that did not escalate, it was only known to some employees of the premises, presumably due to the same factors that later led to the tragedy. [28]​.

At that time there were large gaps in the regulations regarding fire prevention for large spaces such as Ycuá Bolaños, since the ordinance on fire prevention dated back to 1987 - a time when shopping malls, hypermarkets or large shopping centers did not yet exist as they did in 2004. Other factors were: Insufficient and inadequate emergency exits since they were short and could not open outwards as stipulated by regulations, negligence on the part of the owners of the premises and the competent authorities, among others.[29]​.

Closing and sale of the chain

Due to this tragedy, the popularity of the Ycuá Bolaños supermarket chain greatly decreased.[30]​ Even, on November 18, 2004, strikingly only three months after the fire at the Ycuá Bolaños "Botánico", the other location of the Ycuá Bolaños chain, the MultiPlaza branch (located near Shopping MultiPlaza—now Salemma MultiPlaza—) recorded a fire beginning in the supermarket's food court that was instantly suffocated due to acting in time, which further generated the distrust of its clients.[31]​.

Finally two years later, in 2006, the chain, which had been working "at a loss" due to the unpopularity of its stores, closed its doors and was subsequently sold to the company Salemma S.A. who acquires two Ycuá Bolaños premises, putting an end to the Ycuá Bolaños public limited company made up of the Paiva family and members of the consulting company Casaccia-Burgos Auditores.

The only store that remained with the name, which was Ycuá Bolaños I (El Progreso), became independent for a few years, and then changed its name and company name in 2009, definitively extinguishing the name of Ycuá Bolaños as a supermarket.

First accusations and preliminary hearing

The Prosecutor's Office quickly requested the arrest and preventive detention of the owners and guards of the premises, as well as the preventive seizure of Gs. 60 billion (more than 10 million US dollars, for eventual compensation to the victims on the civil side.[32]​ The guards and owners of the premises were detained and arrested by order of the prosecutor's office on August 2, 2004, charged with “aggravated intentional homicide”, with an assigned sentence of up to 25 years in prison;[33]​ although during the course of the case, they were benefited several times from prison home; causing the indignation of relatives and victims of the fire, producing successive demonstrations.[34] Other defendants—in addition to the Paiva—were the members of the board María Victoria Cáceres de Paiva, Antolina Burgos de Casaccia, Agustín Alfonzo Martínez, Guillermo Alfonso Segovia, Humberto Casaccia Romagni, and the guards Daniel Areco, Jorge Daniel Penayo Ojeda, Eder Sánchez Martinetti and Ismael Alcaraz.

In the days and months after the fire, several demonstrations and protests were held at the home of the owners of the premises, and even that of the competent authorities - such as Judges (such as Elio Ovelar, Manuel Aguirre, Augusto Melo[35]​), prosecutors (such as Teresa Sosa, who was removed from the case a month after the fire after insinuating that she would accuse of manslaughter because the doors were open for her[36]​), municipal authorities such as Enrique Riera and Martín Burt (mayor and former mayor of Asunción respectively)—, among others; and in front of the other supermarkets that were still operating from the Ycuá Bolaños chain at that time, in a protest asking for justice.

The owners, shareholders and guards of the premises were accused by the Public Ministry "Ministerio Público (Paraguay)") at the end of December 2004, as well as the architect of the premises - accused in April 2005 - and the competent municipal officials - accused in April 2006 -. All of them were finally convicted in 2008, although the case was divided into three parts, each with different sentences.

On April 11, 2005, the criminal judge of first instance of Lambaré Ramón Augusto Melo Suárez signed a resolution ordering house arrest in favor of Juan Pío Paiva; However, the next day he revoked his resolution and ordered Paiva's transfer to the Police Hospital, because he had health problems, and then returned to the Tacumbú prison. A few days later, the Judge strikingly presented his resignation from office.[37] The case was handed over to the judge of guarantees Rubén Riquelme. From June 13 to 17, 2005, the preliminary hearing was held against the owners, shareholders and guards of the premises at the Club Sol de América sports center "Club Sol de América (Asunción)").[38]

In summary, the owner of the firm Juan Pío Paiva, his son Víctor Daniel Paiva, the guard Daniel Areco, as well as the architect of the premises and the competent municipal officials were prosecuted by the courts of Paraguay, in the investigation carried out by the prosecutor's office. The initial investigation was, in the first part (which investigated the owners and guards of the premises) that by order of Juan Paiva, instructions endorsed by his son Víctor, and carried out by the guard Areco - the only one duly identified by witnesses - the doors of the premises were closed causing many people who could escape and save themselves, ending up dying inside the premises. However, the prosecution ended up accusing on the basis that there was a "pre-established" order, and therefore, a homicide with possible intent, and not directly intended, but indirectly.

The first failed oral and public trial of 2006

After a long investigation, an extensive trial was held that lasted more than four months at a military sports venue. The court - composed of judges Manuel Aguirre, Elio Ovelar and María Doddy Báez - handed down its ruling on December 5, 2006, in which two of the judges - both Aguirre and Ovelar - found that the prosecution failed to prove the intentional participation of the accused, leaving them only responsible as perpetrators of "wrongful homicide", which has a maximum penalty of 5 years.[39]​ While the last judge was reading the reasons for his decision, the relatives of the victims caused serious disorders when they considered that the sentences for the death of almost 400 people were very low, jumping from their seats and throwing the chairs against the judges, not completing the reading of the sentence.

The protests left the place where the trial was being held to concentrate on the headquarters of the Ycuá Bolaños company, where the police intervened, leaving more than 60 detainees and 49 injured to varying degrees. These massive protests continued for several days, during which even President Nicanor Duarte declared that the sentences were too low.

However, for the victims there was no sentence since the judges' decision was not fully read and the process was interrupted before its conclusion. The Supreme Court of Justice of Paraguay admitted this thesis by rejecting the unconstitutionality appeals against the resolution that removed Judges Elio Ovelar and Manuel Aguirre from the case - who were in favor of classifying the event as manslaughter, but not Judge Dody Báez, who considered that the event constituted intentional homicide -, maintaining that there was no arbitrariness or violation of constitutional guarantees. Said resolution of the Supreme Court of Justice gave way for a new trial to be held.[41]​.

Annulment and postponement of the sentence

Due to the innumerable inhibitions and challenges of the capital's magistrates, the case was passed to magistrates from the interior of the country, specifically from the department of Paraguarí, something unusual in the legal environment. Finally, the court was installed and on August 8, 2007, the trial hearing began.

However, the defense requested that the nature of the trial be determined, that is, whether the previous one was annulled or that one is being continued and, because the court ordered that the incidents would be resolved at the end of the hearing, the defense of Víctor Paiva and others presented a request for recusal against the judges, based on an alleged previous opinion on the annulment of the trial, which caused the suspension of the hearing, which generated regret among the victims.[42]​[43]​ The victims protested this delay, demanding the continuity of the process.[44]​ While the dilatory incidents were being resolved, the sentencing court in the case denied a request for freedom that Juan Pío Paiva had presented.[45]​[46]​.

The trial restarted on August 31, 2007, continuing the debates on the type of homicide caused during the tragedy.[47]​ Due to a previous incident raised by the defense, the sentencing court finally determined that a new trial was being held that cannot be understood as a double jeopardy[48]​ since the previous trial was null and void for not having concluded.[49]​.

On September 7 of the same year, Víctor Daniel Paiva regained his freedom, but with imposed restrictions.[50]​[51]​ Given this, organizations supporting the victims of the fire demonstrated against this measure, both at the headquarters of the Judiciary and in front of the only location that still belonged to the Ycuá Bolaños chain.[52]​[53]​[54]​ On September 10, 2007, Juan Pío Paiva regained his freedom. freedom.[55]​[56]​ The victims continued to demonstrate against these measures.[57]​.

Closing of debate and beginning of deliberations

On January 9, 2008, the Trial Court ended the trial debate and ordered the beginning of deliberations on the case, announcing that the full and complete reading of the sentence would only be given on February 2 of the same year, arguing that the complexity of the case required a long and careful analysis.[58]​.

Days before the reading of the trial, the Court issued various security measures, including establishing a security perimeter of three hundred meters where the prohibition of all public demonstrations was ordered. The victims protested against this security measure, describing it as exaggerated, since the constitutional order of Paraguay would not allow this type of judicial measures.[59]​[60][61]​ Subsequently, the victims called for a vigil for all Paraguayan citizens, with more than forty citizen and social organizations joining in.[62]​.

The victims' expectations were to obtain a sentence for intentional homicide until there would be "justice for the case." Felipe Palacios, survivor of the fire and who lost his three young daughters, told Última Hora "Última Hora (Paraguay)") that.

For her part, Francisca Giménez, who lost her daughter and three grandchildren, expressed "I trust that justice will be done and that the accused will be given an exemplary sentence." Meanwhile, on January 31, the Paraguayan press announced that the Sentencing Court would suspend the reading of the sentence if security measures were violated.[64]​.

final sentence

Both the national and international press gathered to hear the ruling in the case.[65]​ The reading of the sentence began at 9:00, Paraguay time (13:00 UTC) on the morning of February 2, 2008.[66][67]​.

After the presentation of the required arguments, in which some of the victims' relatives fainted,[68]​ the Sentencing Court, made up of judges Germán Torres, Blas Cabriza and Bibiana Benítez, determined that the main defendants: Juan Pío Paiva, Víctor Daniel Paiva and Daniel Areco, were guilty of "simple intentional homicide" due to possible intent),[69]​ "attempted intentional homicide aggravated" and "exposure of people to dangerous workplaces" (the first two legally related crimes and the third in reference to the conditions of the damaged building), which meant a sentence of 5 to 15 years in prison according to the Paraguayan Penal Code and its modifications at that time.

The prosecutor's investigation determined that by order of Juan Pío Paiva, instructions endorsed by his son Víctor Daniel, the doors of the premises were closed, causing the tragedy, with the guard Daniel Areco being identified as one of those who carried out "the order" to close one of the doors.

Humberto Casaccia was the only member of the company's board of directors, apart from the Paiva, who was convicted. [70] Since the case was divided into 3 parts, the following convicted in the first part were sentenced to the following penalties:

• - Juan Pío Paiva (owner): 12 years in prison: Intentional homicide in an eventual degree. Exposure of people to dangerous workplaces.

• - Víctor Daniel Paiva (co-owner): 10 years in prison: Intentional homicide in an eventual degree.

• - Daniel Areco (guard): 5 years in prison: Intentional homicide in an eventual degree.

• - Humberto Casaccia (shareholder): 2 years and 6 months in prison: Exposure of people to dangerous workplaces.

Areco, having served 2/3 of his sentence, was now able to request his conditional release.[71]​

The following were acquitted in this process: María Victoria Cáceres de Paiva (spouse of Juan Pío and shareholder of the company), Antolina Burgos de Casaccia (spouse of Humberto) and Agustín Alfonso (member of the business board), and several guards of the premises – who were under preventive detention for a few months – because only Areco was duly identified by witnesses as having closed one of the doors.

On the other hand, the sentence expressly provided that the convicted persons would not go to jail until the sentence was final (a fact that took months since it would be appealed).[72]​ The victims, although they admitted that it was a victory that the conviction for intentional homicide was achieved (something obtained due to the pressure they exerted, according to them), expressed their total disappointment and rejection of the light sentences and the benefits that the victims obtained. condemned.[71]​[73]​[74]​[75]​[76]​.

The president at the time, Nicanor Duarte Frutos, decreed three days of national mourning, during which the flags remained at half-mast.[17] This tragedy occurred shortly before the tragic fire at the República Cromañón nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which occurred on December 30, 2004, which reinforced the demand for control by municipal organizations in all South American countries regarding security in access areas. public.

The lack of a reliable judicial process and the immensity of the human tragedy have caused new victims among the family members and survivors of the tragedy, because many of them contract psychosomatic illnesses, physical-mental health complications, die from heart attacks, or commit suicide due to depression.[86][87]​.

Although a criminal conviction was obtained, with several years in prison for the Paiva mainly - thanks to the pressure exerted by the victims and relatives of the tragedy - in the civil sphere, many victims and their relatives lost their trials and were left without receiving compensation, others even losing their assets to be able to pay lawyers' fees.[88]​.

• - Cinematographic documentary "Paraguay was news" by Ricardo Álvarez. 88 min. Year 2008.

• - Book "The Tragedy of Ycuá Bolaños" by Karin Becker.

• - Book "Transcendence" by Verónica Becker.

• - Book "Ycuá Bolaños: Story of a survivor" by Rossana Cristaldo and Marta Roa.

• - Book "1A: I'm alive to tell the tale" by Gloria Morel.

• - List of non-forest fires.

• - Volunteer Fire Department of Paraguay.

• - Juan Pío Paiva.

• - Victor Daniel Paiva.

• - Ycuá Bolaños.

• - Almacén Vida Fire (1958).

• - Cro-Magnon Tragedy (2004).

• - Twin Towers attacks (2001).

• - Madrid attack (2004).

• - Kiss nightclub tragedy (2013).

• - Chapecoense tragedy (2016).

• - Paraguay was in the news (2008 documentary).

• - Wikimedia Commons hosts a multimedia category on Ycuá Bolaños supermarket fire.

• - Official site of the company.

• - Ycuá Bolaños Case on the site of the Judiciary of Paraguay.

• - Site of the Victim Organizations of the Ycua Bolaños.

• - Ycua Bolaños: Report from the Asunción Firefighters Archived November 29, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.