MEXICO, — A pair of North Texas siblings is trying to figure out how to move forward after their parents' sudden death. Their mother and father were killed in an explosion while visiting Mexico over the Thanksgiving holiday.
Maricela Caballero and her husband Gabriel Nunez had just bought their dream vacation home in Tulum, Mexico. The Grand Prairie couple was looking forward to many vacations with family and friends.
"They both were hard working people that had a lot of dreams,” said the couple's daughter, Brenda Saldana.
In mid-November, the couple went there to furnish and decorate their new place. Caballero sent a video to her daughter.
"Yeah, my mom had just finished sending me video of the apartment being furnished. They had just gotten new sofas, brand new and they had just gotten excited to furnish it,” said Saldana.
On Nov. 18, the day after they arrived, the Tulum condo exploded while Caballero and Nunez slept. Saldana watched a video of the aftermath.
"At first, I didn’t know if that was real. You know, at first, I was like no, it couldn’t be,” said Saldana.
But reality set in when she learned both her parents were severely injured. She also saw pictures from a local newspaper of the explosion.
"They had third degree burns. My dad had 98% of his body. My mom 85% of her body,” said Saldana.
They were flown to a hospital in Mexico City. Nunez died the day after Thanksgiving. Caballero passed away Wednesday, Nov. 29.
"After a week of fighting for their lives, they ended up passing. Both of them," said Saldana.
She's only 22 years old and her brother is only 17. Both were unsure of what to do next and how to bring their parents back to the United States, so they contacted Dallas attorney Juan Hernandez.
"There is a lot of people in need. This family is certainly one of them,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez’ wife, who works with clients’ families, said the case breaks her heart.
"You know the holidays are coming and we’re all planning, you know we’re putting up our Christmas trees and we’re buying gifts for our kids, and you know there’s so much that I know this family is going to endure,” said Clarabeth Hernandez with Hernandez Law Firm.
While the immediate focus is on helping the children cope, there is also the search for answers.
"It was a brand-new property. So, I never would think that could have happened,” said Saldana.
Hernandez says, unfortunately, in Mexico explosions like this are not uncommon -- especially in high tourist areas like Tulum where there is a lot of new developments.
"Unfortunately, we see a lot of shoddy work and so for that reason, you’ll have explosions because of gas lines or whatever the reason may be,” said Hernandez.
Hernandez says there were warning signs. After the explosion, the owners of Selva Norte, where it happened, held a Zoom meeting with residents. Several of them said they complained about gas leaking. The next day the explosion happened.
"They knew of a gas leak, they did nothing about it, and then the explosion happened. It was forcible,” said Hernandez.
WFAA reached out to the property owners but have not heard back. Hernandez has filed a lawsuit.
"Personal injury is almost nonexistent in Mexico. Save for except a few situations, this may be one of them where the developers are going to be held liable criminally,” said Hernandez.
As for Saldana and her brother, they are trying to figure out how to move forward with mounting medical and funeral expenses. So, they’ve set up a GoFundMe account. You can help out by donating here.
"So, it was all so sudden and a shock to both me and my brother and right now, we’re just trying to figure out everything out on our own,” said Saldana.