Approximately 380 Walmart customers, employees and independent sales agents were evacuated from the Lakeside branch of the supermarket chain on Saturday, December 11, after a propane gas leak was detected on the premises at around 12:30 p.m.
Some 90 vehicles were also instructed to abandon the parking lot as a Civil Protection unit searched for the source of the problem that gas company workers had identified while refilling the store’s propane tanks.
The telling odor of gas licuado was initially noticed in the supermarket’s kitchen area. However, the leak was finally pinned down to faulty tubing in a 5,000-liter outdoor tank. After the necessary repairs were completed, the big box outlet reopened at 3:15 p.m. No one was injured or intoxicated during the incident.
State and municipal police officers, and members of Chapala’s firefighting and civil protection unit, joined Walmart management personnel in efficiently carrying out the evacuation procedures and pursuant safety precaution measures.