MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Unprecedented storm: Roof collapses in Bahía Blanca killing 13

“I am perfectly confident that you will be able to resolve this situation in the best possible way, with the existing resources,” Milei told the people of Bahía Blanca

At least 13 people were reported dead in the city port of Bahía Blanca some 690 kilometers south of the Argentine capital and three others elsewhere in the province of Buenos Aires after Sunday's storms. Parts of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA), where one victim was reported, and other provinces were left without electricity for hours.

In the City of Buenos Aires, fallen trees blocked traffic and caused damage to several cars but left no fatalities according to local media. “This morning we suffered a strong storm with winds of up to 97 kilometers per hour recorded at the Metropolitan Airport. At the moment there are over 360 fallen trees that left streets and cables cut. There is damage to canopies and lighting columns in various parts of the City,” Buenos Aires Mayor Jorge Macri said.

After voting at the Club Atlético Boca Juniors elections, President Javier Milei traveled to Bahía Blanca alongside Ministers Patricia Bullrich (Security) and Luis Petri (Defense).

“Together with all the emergency, security, and armed forces involved, we update the status of the Crisis Committee together with Governor Axel Kicillof and President Javier Milei,” Bahía Blanca Mayor Federico Susbielles posted on X.

More than 2,000 people “are working as a team, in different sectors of the city, to clear the arteries, provide social assistance in the most affected sectors and restore basic services as soon as possible, he added.

The storm caused the roof of a club to collapse late on Saturday causing 13 deaths and leaving 14 other people seriously injured.

From the damaged club, Milei told the people of Bahía Blanca that ”I am perfectly confident that you will be able to resolve this situation in the best possible way, with the existing resources“ while highlighting the “resilience” of Argentines.

Those words were quickly linked to Milei's ”there is no money“ motto. However, the president also assured that the national government was available to the victims and their families, it was reported.

Buenos Aires Governor Axel Killicof, who arrived on the scene before Milei, said it was ”a situation of deep sadness that has affected the entire province.