RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil—The manhole explosion that severely burned two American tourists in Rio on Tuesday may have been caused by a short circuit, according to a preliminary report released Wednesday by Tourist Police investigators.
Sarah Lawry, 28, and David McLaughlin, 31, had been taking a late morning walk near Copacabana Beach in Zona Sul, a popular tourist area of Rio de Janeiro when a manhole suddenly blew up. Both of them suffered severe burns.
The couple, from Ohio, has been transferred to the burn unit of St. Vincent Clinic in Gávea, in the South Zone of the city. The clinic told local media that they are both lucid and able to eat.
David’s brother, Joshua is on his way to Rio with is wife. “We had a chance to talk to them today and they are in good spirits,” said David in an email.
According to the preliminary report, about 15 feet from the manhole owned by Light, the electric energy utility of Rio, was a State Gas Company (CEG) pipe. However, Tourist Police chief Fernado Reis said that investigators found that there had been no gas leak when the pipe was examined on Tuesday.
President of Light, Jerson Kelman, said in an interview with Globo TV on Wednesday that on June 8, two processors in the underground culvert had been changed because they were not functioning properly. He said that beneath the street there are delivery systems for both electricity and gas.
“We exchanged the processors in June and exchanged the fan in April. So, we are not certain what happened,” said Kelman.
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