The parish of El Salvador of Caravaca de la Cruz hosted the funeral mass this Friday afternoon for the eternal rest of four of the victims who lost their lives in the tragic fire that took place last weekend in the nightclubs of Las Watchtowers in Murcia.
Hundreds of people gathered at the church to show solidarity with the families and have an emotional memory for Jorge Enrique Batioja Olivero and Rosa María Rosero Sánchez; Leidy Paola Correa and Kevin Alejandro Gómez, residents of Caravaca de la Cruz, where they lived with their families from Ecuador and Colombia.
The four hearses arrived at the Plaza del Arco, where the City Hall is located and where the local authorities and the relatives, neighbors and friends of the four victims were waiting. Scenes of pain followed one another as families arrived to pick up the coffins and carry them on their shoulders to the church.
At the celebration, along with the mayor of the town, José Francisco García, were the counselor of the Presidency, Marcos Ortuño; the Colombian consul in Valencia, Gillian Maghmud; the councilor of the Murcia City Council Jesús Pacheco, and Luis Melgarejo, older brother of the Brotherhood of the Vera Cruz of Caravaca.
Some of the attendees needed psychological attention during the funeral
Upon arriving at the church, the music of two violins welcomed the funeral procession. The parish priest of El Salvador and episcopal vicar of the area, David Martínez, and several priests, concelebrated the mass in a temple filled to overflowing.
The priest commented that “today we meet with a wound that we began to suffer since early last Sunday; “It is true that death breaks us, it takes away our loved ones with a pain that surpasses the family and the people, our Region and that has reached Colombia and Ecuador, it has spread beyond the ocean.”
“Our presence is important,” he added, “it is a balm for the hearts of these families, a sign that we are a single family, especially in the suffering that, shared, is much more bearable.” At the end of the celebration the most emotional moments occurred with the farewell of the family members.
“We are a single family in suffering that, shared, is much more bearable,” indicated the parish priest of El Salvador
On the way back to the Plaza del Arco, where the hearses were waiting, flags of Colombia and Ecuador covered the coffins while Colombian music played to accompany the procession. The authorities accompanied the relatives to the cars and said goodbye to them as they headed towards the cemetery to bury the bodies of the four victims.
Psychological care for families
To facilitate the normal development of the funeral, a special device was deployed in which agents from the Local Police, Civil Guard, Civil Protection and Red Cross participated. The team of psychologists who have attended to the family members since last Sunday were also present this Friday afternoon in Caravaca. The pain of loss is so intense that some people needed care during the funeral. During the hours that the bodies were laid to rest in the city’s funeral home, there were also very emotional and painful moments in which psychological care for the families became necessary. The massive event on Thursday in the Plaza de San Juan de la Cruz was followed by a vigil at the funeral home in which relatives, neighbors and compatriots of the victims also participated.
From grief to vindication
Although pain was the general tone of the day, the suffering was aggravated by thinking about the tragic circumstances in which these four deaths occurred. Both Jairo, Leidy Paola’s father, and the rest of the closest relatives, have shown in recent days their indignation at what happened, due to the lack of initial information about how the fire had occurred.
Both family members and neighbors commented that incidents such as the one that occurred in the Atalayas entertainment venues must be prevented from occurring again. It was also commented that this should serve to increase vigilance in compliance with current regulations for these establishments.
“We will be very attentive to the needs of the three orphans”
The mayor of Caravaca, José Francisco García, stated that “it is being a very hard day, today the tragedy is reflected especially in the children who still cannot explain how they have lost their parents.” He was alluding to Enrique Batioja and Rosa María Rosero, the deceased couple who left three children. “We have tried to show – he added – the most humane support possible towards the families and we are going to be very attentive to the needs of the three minors who have been orphaned so that they can move forward, it will be more difficult without their parents but the institutions will have to cover the hole left by his loss.
The Colombian consul declared that “we have accompanied the families from the consulate from the first moment; “And we are very grateful to the Caravaca City Council and the regional authorities because the families of the victims have felt very comforted at all times.”
The Minister of the Presidency, Marcos Ortuño, confessed to feeling “dismayed by the tragedy” and showed the support of the regional government to be with the families “with the means and resources that are within our reach.”
The three minors left by Rosa and Enrique attend classes at two educational centers in the city, the La Santa Cruz school and the IES Ginés Pérez Chirinos. The town’s Town Hall, in coordination with the management of both centers and the Department of Education, has been monitoring these three minors throughout the week. The Department of Social Services is also providing support through its technicians to determine the needs of the minors and assist them.
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