Viviana Aguilar Zendejas, 31, has died a week after suffering severe burns while reportedly shielding her young daughter from flames caused by a gas leak in Cuernavaca, Mexico, with officials now clarifying that the incident stemmed from a leak during a residential gas delivery rather than the tanker itself exploding.
A mother-of-three has died after reportedly using her own body to shield her six-year-old daughter from flames caused by an LPG gas leak in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Viviana Aguilar Zendejas, 31, was travelling in a car with her daughter Isabella when the incident happened on 6 August. She died in intensive care on Thursday, 13 August, a week later, and is reported to be the first confirmed fatality linked to the disaster. Morelos authorities have since clarified that the gas tanker involved did not itself explode; instead, the incident resulted from a gas leak that occurred while the tanker was supplying a nearby residence, with the leaked gas subsequently igniting.
What happened
According to Isabella’s account, her mother told her to hold her breath as gas began entering their vehicle. Viviana then reportedly picked her daughter up and carried her out of the car as the situation worsened. When the leaked gas ignited, Viviana is said to have placed her own body between Isabella and the flames, shielding her daughter from the worst of the fire.
As a result, Isabella suffered burns to around 4% of her body, according to NeedToKnow. She was treated at a local hospital before being discharged to recover at home. Viviana, by contrast, was left with severe second- and third-degree burns covering more than half of her body. She was initially treated locally in Morelos before being intubated and transferred to Mexico City for specialist care.
Scale of the incident
According to an initial official emergency assessment from Morelos Civil Protection, 21 people were injured, with 15 transported to hospital by emergency units and a further five making their own way to medical care. Authorities initially reported no deaths at the scene.
Later local reporting from El Sol de Cuernavaca put the extent of physical damage considerably higher than first understood, with 34 homes affected, including three subsequently deemed uninhabitable. A further assessment reported by Digital Mex found that four vehicles were destroyed by fire, six sustained partial damage, and a motorcycle was also affected.
Some of those injured, including children, required hospital treatment both in Mexico and in the United States, according to earlier reporting.
Viviana’s death and the legal response
Viviana died in hospital a week after the incident, on Thursday, 13 August, despite the intensive treatment she received. Following her death, the Morelos State Attorney General’s Office said it would strengthen its investigation and determine the appropriate legal classification of the case to reflect the fatality.
By 13 August, the Fiscalía (Attorney General’s Office) had received 58 formal complaints relating to the incident, primarily concerning property damage and injuries, according to Grupo Milenio.
Compensation talks with the gas company
In a significant development, the Morelos Attorney General and the state Secretary of Government met with legal representatives of Tomza Gas Titanium S.A. de C.V., the company that operated the tanker, along with the company’s insurers, on 13 August. The meeting focused on mechanisms to secure compensation for those affected by the incident.
The Fiscalía has specifically called on the company and its insurers to guarantee compensation for victims, stating it would use all legal measures available to protect their rights. The state government separately said it would establish the conditions required under Mexican law to ensure victims could access justice.
Support for affected residents
Morelos’s state government has established a support mechanism for those affected through its Public Defender’s Office and its Executive Commission for Victim Assistance and Reparation (CEARV). According to the government’s update, the Public Defender’s Office had provided free legal advice to 16 people, while CEARV had begun assistance for 17 affected individuals, including procedures for formally registering them as victims.
Investigation into the cause remains ongoing
It is important to note that officials have not yet established a definitive cause for the fire. Morelos Civil Protection has explicitly stated that investigations are continuing to determine what caused the incident, and it would therefore be premature to describe the cause, whether mechanical failure, human error, equipment fault or another factor, as established.
As of the most recent reporting, Tomza Gas Titanium had not been sanctioned in connection with the incident, and a state Civil Protection official confirmed the company was continuing to operate normally while the investigation remained ongoing.
A mother’s final act
Viviana’s reported actions in her final moments have made the case especially poignant. Rather than attempting to escape the scene alone, she is said to have prioritised getting her young daughter to safety, ultimately sustaining the injuries that would lead to her death a week later.
