Cancun, Q.R. — After the fatal collapse of Cancun’s Burrito Sabanero Sunday, Civil Protection is reviewing the city’s decorative holiday structures. Antonio Riveroll Ribbón, Director of Cancun Civil Protection, said they are reviewing the supports of large holiday decorations around the city due to the change in weather.
On Sunday evening, the city’s colorful Burrito Sabanero, a large heavy metal structure, was collapsed by strong winds with the arrival of cold front 16. The large donkey, which was outfitted with sparkling lights, was blown over by the wind.
Riveroll Ribbón says safety inspectors are currently reviewing all holiday decorations that have been placed in city roundabouts after the collapse of Burrito Sabanero on Malecón Tajamar.
While there were no injuries reported, the large metal structure was erected in a public walking and driving area of the city that was unable to withstand the winds. It took nearly 50 Municipal Public Service Workers two hours to take the collapsed structure apart and pack it up.
He reported that since reviews began Monday, several city decorations have already been reinforced with anchors to withstand the gusts.
Regarding the Sunday night collapse of Burrito Sabanero, Antonio Riveroll said it happened because winds exceeded the forecast. Instead of winds of 30 to 50 kms/h, he said Cancun recorded winds of 50 to 70 kms/h.
“The winds exceeded what was expected. We had gusts forecast for between 30 and 50, but they reached between 50 and 70 kilometers per hour, very strong winds, so reinforcement work was done.”
The roundabouts were toured that night, he said. “We finished at approximately 1:30 or 2 in the morning,” adding that they had support of the decoration sponsors. The following day, sponsors added additional security to their decorations to help ensure they remain in place since the cold front season has only just begun.
