Tragedy at Lake Cardiel: the painful story of the Barría family

Carlos Guajardo

03/01/2021 11:56

• Clarín.com

• Society

Updated 03/01/2021 11:56 AM

The town of Gobernador Gregores, in Santa Cruz, continues with its nightmare.

The residents are still immersed in the pain caused by the death of the kayakers when they were surprised by a windstorm on Lake Cardiel.

The rescuers found three victims dead and are still looking for the body of Javier Barría Peralta, 29, a police firefighter corporal and brother of Daniel Barría Peralta (33), who died, and of the provincial deputy Claudio Barría Peralta (36) , who managed to survive.

Fate was cruel to the Barría family, who already know about this type of tragedy.

On the morning of June 10, 2019, a landslide registered in a mine ended the life of Carlos Horacio Peralta (25), brother of the previous ones.

The young man was working as an equipment operator when the walls of the “Portal Cose” mine, adjacent to the Manantial Espejo deposit, began to shake and the collapse occurred, a few kilometers from Gobernador Gregores.

He was the only fatal victim of the accident.

Now, the town mourns other members of the family.

Daniel was a councilor and president of the local Deliberative Council.

And Claudio, who managed to survive, is a provincial deputy for the Frente de Todos.

Deputy Claudio Barría managed to survive, but he has already lost two brothers and another is missing.

A family marked by pain / Photo Nuevo Día.

Mateo Barría, the latter's son, only 8 years old, also managed to survive, clinging to a lifebuoy for four hours on the icy waters of the lake.

In addition, Raquel Elsa Martínez (49) and the Cordovan veterinarian Marilena Bossio (26) died.

Meanwhile, Claudio and Mateo Barría were rescued alive, as well as John Maximiliano Hoffman (28), Martínez's son.

The group that made up the Barrías had gone out early to sail in kayaks through the waters of the lake last Saturday.

A different group made up Bossio, Martínez and Hofmann, although they were very close at the time of the storm that unleashed the tragedy.

According to members of rescue groups, it was Marilena who - upon seeing the little boy Mateo in danger

- gave him his life preserver, thanks to which the boy was able to survive

.

The young veterinarian, who had come to Gobernador Gregores to look for work, died.

The incident occurred around 3 pm in the Bahía El Griego area, 80 kilometers from Gobernador Gregores, a town located in the center of Santa Cruz with about 9,000 inhabitants, 424 kilometers from Río Gallegos.

Carlos Horacio Peralta (25), the miner who died in a landslide in Gobernador Gregores.

This lake is usually used for nautical sports.

It has a length of 25 kilometers, an area of ​​approximately 400 square kilometers, and an average depth of 49 meters.

The area is not easy to embark on adventure.

The mountain lakes of Santa Cruz are characterized not only by their icy waters, but also by the wind conditions that prevail permanently.

The wind is one more element of any journey and, many times, it can be treacherous.

EMJ

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