A heatwave in Cartagena appears to have killed three people between June 10 and 14, reported newspaper El Heraldo Thursday.
Temperatures reaching up to 100ºF, compared to an average of 88ºF, signal the coming of the so-called San Juan Veranillo, a traditionally dry and hot break in the rainy season, although the high temperatures have been suggested to be possibly related to climate change.
A bricklayer died while working on Cartagena’s oil refinery on Friday June 10. According to members of the Ecopetrol Union, he suffered from numerous seizures before he died in San Juan de Dios Hospital.
Another heatstroke-related death occured on Saturday June 11. A 42-year-old cab driver returned home after a day of work and died shortly thereafter from cardiac arrest.
The final death related to the extreme heat occurred on Tuesday, when a cab driver’s wife found her husband suffering from cardiorespiratory distress. He died before arriving to the hospital.