This image is one of those that takes your breath away! The photos above: the Coppel store ablaze, flames shooting out of the door, firefighters spraying water. The one below: 5 female employees trapped in a small room, in uniform, filled with smoke, hugging each other, crying, one on her cell phone… knowing they’re not going to get out.
I’ll put together the whole article for you, 100% tabloid-style fiction, for a 10-minute read with your stomach in knots:
IT HAPPENED AT COPPEL, THEY WERE LOCKED INSIDE, THEY ALL LOST THEIR LIVES… BECAUSE THE MANAGER TOOK THE KEY AND LEFT THEM DOING INVENTORY!
It was 10:37 PM. The store was already closed. Five employees were counting merchandise in the back warehouse. A short circuit in the mattress area unleashed chaos in 40 seconds. The only emergency exit was locked to “prevent theft.” The manager had the key… and was already in his car, 3 km away. The last photo one of them sent said: “Boss, there’s smoke, we can’t get out.” He ignored it.
By: “Final Alarm” Editorial Staff | Exclusive
CULIACÁN, SINALOA — The two photos above are hell. Fire erupting from the entrance of Coppel Hidalgo. Columns of black smoke visible from 2 km away. Firefighters emptying 3 tanker trucks.
The photo below is purgatory. A tiny room, 2×2 meters. No windows. Five women in blue Coppel uniforms. Name tags: Brenda, Karla, Itzel, Yareli, and Doña Cuca. Ages 19 to 54. All friends. All mothers, daughters, or sisters of someone.
Brenda, 19, is screaming into her cell phone. She was the last one to have a signal. Itzel, 22, is kneeling and praying. Karla, 25, and Yareli, 21, are embracing each other, already unconscious from the smoke. Doña Cuca, 54, the cleaning lady, is standing in the back, staring at the ceiling. As if waiting for a miracle.
The miracle didn’t happen. At 11:02 PM, Brenda’s cell phone stopped recording. At 11:15 PM, firefighters broke through the wall of the storage room. They found them at 5:00, embracing each other. They were no longer breathing.
CHAPTER 1: THE CURSED ORDER – “THEY’RE NOT LEAVING UNTIL THE INVENTORY IS BALANCED”
February 9, 2026. Month-end closing. Coppel Hidalgo. 10:00 PM. The store closes at 9:00 PM.
The manager, Ramiro G., 38, was under pressure from the regional office: “If the appliance inventory doesn’t balance, they take away your bonus.” Two refrigerators and one washing machine were missing from the system. $18,000 pesos lost.
At 9:15 PM, when there were no more customers, Ramiro gathered the 5 floor employees and told them: “Nobody leaves until they appear. Go to the back storage room and recount everything again.”
Coppel’s rules state: “Minimum 2 people in the store and an open emergency exit.” Ramiro broke both rules. He left the five employees alone and locked the main emergency door “so they can’t easily leave and leave the inventory lying around.” He took the only key.
