Arson attack south of Ercilla leaves two injured and a pickup truck destroyed
This Sunday around 10:35 PM, an arson attack was recorded south of the commune of Ercilla in the La Araucanía region.
The attack occurred a few kilometers south of the town of Pidima, on Route 5, leaving a pickup truck destroyed by flames. The vehicle had been reported stolen with intimidation since September of this year.
According to information provided by drivers, bursts of gunfire were heard in the area, approximately at km 608 from north to south.
Traffic was suspended preventively – to the north at Collipulli and to the south at Victoria.
Firefighters arrived at the scene to extinguish the flames of the pickup truck, and Chilean Carabineros personnel have been securing the area.
Two injured
The head of the Chilean Carabineros in the Araucanía Zone, General Miguel Herrera, described how the events occurred.
"An unknown group of individuals accessed the Pidima intersection and proceeded to carry out a series of unjustified shootings and set a small vehicle, a pickup truck, on fire," he recounted in a conversation with TVN.
"As a result of these shots, a truck traveling from south to north was hit. The truck suffered ballistic impacts on its windshield and the rest of the body," he continued.
The General added that the truck continued its journey and arrived in Collipulli, where the driver was assisted for minor injuries he sustained. Additionally, there is a woman who was treated at the Victoria Hospital for ballistic impacts that hit her legs.
"Unfortunately, we have to report the injuries of a woman who was in a pickup truck traveling from north to south, heading to Ercilla, and she suffered two ballistic impacts: one in her groin and one in her right leg," described the officer.
He concluded by clarifying that, by order of the Public Ministry, "the work of Labocar, OS9, and the Vehicle Theft and Recovery Section was arranged." They are also working with the institutional drone to locate the whereabouts of the perpetrators of the incident.
Source: BiobioChile
