MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Package bomb injures four at Argentina gendarmerie school in Buenos Aires

The blast occurred at about 13:49 on the 11th floor of the institution’s building at Avenida Paseo Colón 533, after personnel handled a parcel that had been stored on-site for months

A package containing an explosive device detonated on Friday at Argentina’s National Gendarmerie Superior School in central Buenos Aires, injuring force personnel and triggering a security operation and a partial evacuation of the premises.

The blast occurred at about 13:49 on the 11th floor of the institution’s building at Avenida Paseo Colón 533, after personnel handled a parcel that had been stored on-site for months. Local reports said the shipment had been kept for at least four months before it was opened.

In an operational update, the National Security Ministry said two officers were taken by the city emergency medical service (SAME) to Hospital Argerich “with no risk to life,” while a third member remained “recovering and out of danger.” Local media reports also described a fourth person as affected by the blast, without serious injuries.

Specialist teams were deployed after the explosion and a safety perimeter was established. City police, firefighters and explosives personnel were among the responders, as checks were carried out to rule out additional devices inside the building.

Authorities evacuated 320 people as a precaution: 120 from Paseo Colón 533 and 200 from the adjacent building at Paseo Colón 525. Other stored consignments were also inspected; at least two additional parcels were examined and found not to contain explosive material.

The case was assigned to a federal court led by Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi. Forensic work was tasked to the Federal Police’s Anti-Terrorism Investigation Unit, the ministry said, as investigators seek to establish the parcel’s origin and how it entered the school’s internal handling chain.