Santiago, Chile: Comrade wounded by explosion of bomb at bank

from vivalaanarquia, translated by war on society:

This morning we woke up to tragic news for the anti-authoritarian and anarchist and revolution: Luciano Pitronella was wounded in the explosion of a bomb, which according to the media he was placing in a bank located at Victoria and  Vicuña Mackena in Santiago at around 2:25 in the morning today [June 1st]; this is causing a huge media frenzy as he would be the second person seriously affected by an explosive device, noting that it has been two years since comrade Mauricio Morales died, and also due to the present “bombs case” media frenzy, which at this very moment the prosecutor is linking him with; also it is known by very close sources (liberacion total) that the comrade belongs to the anti-system tendency; Luciano Pitronello Schuffenegeral also known as “the turtle” was transferred to the Public Assistance Emergency Hospital (Posta Central) and at this very moment according to the latest news of 1:30 pm would be in serious condition with perhaps total loss of vision, amputation of arms, and burns on his body and on his face; at this very moment he is struggling between life and death. From this space of diffusion [meaning the viva…! blog], greetings to the comrade’s loved ones and affinities, who must be finding themselves destroyed by this news, strength to them.

We hope to have news from that region to find out what Luciano’s condition is. Strength, Luciano!

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sent as a comment: he was transferred to a clinic where he remains interned in the critical care unit for his serious condition, but the clinic has a ban on giving any information about his state of health.

they have the power to play with life and death, but the ideals are stronger than death……

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June 1st – taken from the press

Santiago – A youth of 22 years lost his hands and remains in serious condition after the premature explosion of a bomb that he intended to place in the early hours of today in a bank branch in Santiago, Chile, according to police sources.

The incident occured at 2:25 this morning outside of a branch of Santander Bank located at the corner of Vicuña Mackenna and Victoria streets in the center of Santiago.

Witnesses reported seeing two individuals close to the branch to which they arrived on a motorcycle.

A taxi driver related to Emol [press] “after feeling the explosion I saw someone leaving the bank in flames. (He) walked into the middle of the street where he hit the pavement asking for help because he was burning.”

Then, he added, “a bus driver who was just passing by stopped and took an extinguisher with powder to put out the flames that he had on his clothes, while the youth, who was all bloody, asked to be taken to a hospital.”

The detonation also caused serious damages in the front of the bank branch and remains of the victim’s fingers were left scattered in front of it.

The youth was identified by the police as Luciano Pitronello Schuffeneger (22), who was transferred to the Posta Central, where it was found that the explosion had caused the amputation of both of his hands, as well as vision loss and burns on his face and torso.

The prosecutor in charge of the case, Héctor Barros, told journalists that Pitronello has links to anarchist groups and that in 2009 he lived in a “case Okupa” [squat] where there were arrested some suspects of bomb attacks.

The bomb that caused him the injuries consisted of an extinguisher filled with black powder, similar to others that have exploded in the past few years in Santiago and other cities in Chile, according to the police, who believed that Pitronello made an error in activating the watch mechanism that was supposed to made the device explode.

Last year there were arrested 14 suspected authors of the attacks, all of whom are presently on provisional release or house arrest, after staging a prolonged hunger strike in prison and denouncing that they are the victims of a frame-up.

Other news: http://www.elmostrador.cl/noticias/pais/2011/06/01/fiscalia-vincula-con-grupos-anarquistas-a-joven-que-perdio-ambas-manos-mientras-colocaba-explosivo-en-sucursal-bancaria/

info in spanish:

• https://vivalaanarquia.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/urgente-hile-explota-bomba-y-deja-un-herido-grave-en-santiago-chile/
• https://vivalaanarquia.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/hile-ultimas-noticias-del-estado-de-salud-del-companero-luciano/