Borges said she and others had complained about a gas odor about 30 minutes before the factory blew up. She is angry Palmer didn't immediately evacuate. She said the deaths of her co-workers - including her close friend, Judith Lopez-Moran - could've been prevented.
At 4:30 p.m., Borges told the AP, she smelled natural gas. It was strong and nauseated her. Borges and her co-workers approached their supervisor, asking "what was going to be done, if we were going to be evacuated," she recalled.
Borges said the supervisor noted someone higher up would have to make that decision. So she got back to work.
. . . the two-story brick building exploded. Borges, who'd been on a ladder, was thrown to the ground. She heard screaming. There was fire everywhere, and the flames quickly overtook her. . . . She began to run. That's when the floor gave way, and she could feel herself falling - into a long, horizontal tank of chocolate in the factory's basement. At 4 feet, 10 inches tall, Borges landed on her feet in chest-high liquid. The chocolate extinguished the flames, but she believes her fall is what broke her feet.
The vat began filling with water from firefighters' hoses, eventually forcing Borges to climb out as it reached neck level. She sat on the lip of the tank, then jumped into a pool of water that had formed on the basement floor. Briefly submerged, Borges said she swallowed a mouthful of water before surfacing. She grabbed onto some plastic tubing.
And then she waited. "Help, help, please help!" she yelled, over and over, for hours. No one came. The pain grew more intense. The water was frigid. The main supply pipe for the building's fire suppression system had ruptured - and water was pouring into the basement. She lost track of time but thought she might be there for days. . . .
Finally, in the middle of the night, she saw a light and screamed anew for help. Search-and-rescue dogs had alerted their handlers that a survivor might be in the rubble. Now, as rescuers carefully worked their way down to the basement, they heard Borges's cries. Calling for quiet, the rescuers followed the sound of her voice. They found her in a tight space, in chest-deep water. She made her way to them and was placed in a litter.