Guatemala declares three-day national mourning over deaths in Quetzaltenango

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei today signed an intergovernmental agreement that calls for three days of national mourning following the deaths of nine people in a human avalanche in the town of Quetzaltenango, 200 kilometers west of Guatemala City.

These people died early on Sept. 15 while leaving a concert at a fairground in Quetzaltenango. Pressure exerted by a large group of visitors to leave caused their deaths and injured 20 others during the celebration of independence.

Giammattei announced the agreement before traveling to New York, where he will attend the upcoming United Nations, General Assembly.

“I deeply regret the irretrievable loss of life and extend my condolences to the victims’ families. I pray to God for their eternal rest,” the president said after the tragedy.

In his social networks, the president assured that with this agreement, he also reaffirmed his government’s willingness to cooperate in the investigation and help prevent such incidents in the future.

According to the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif), the people who died in this incident died of asphyxiation due to chest compression, according to the analysis conducted before the bodies were handed over to their families.

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