In 1995, the explosion of the Río Tercero Military Factory became one of the most serious corruption cases in Argentina’s history. The tragic explosion of an arms factory, initially believed to be accidental, was in fact intentional — intended to conceal evidence of a government crime.

La Nación set out to create a detailed narrative that would allow readers to immerse themselves in the story as if they were there. This journalistic project reconstructed, with an unprecedented level of detail, the morning of the attack and explained how it was orchestrated to conceal illegal arms trafficking.

Using court records, field reporting, and new technologies, an interdisciplinary team created an immersive visual narrative that recreates the morning of the attack and explains how it was orchestrated to conceal illegal arms trafficking.

The investigation combines rigorous journalism, interactive design, and data visualisation to shed light on a key event in the country’s history. The story became the most-read article on the day of publication and generated strong reader engagement.

Inside the explosion

The blast wave swept through surrounding homes, shrapnel fell as far as two kilometres from the arms depots, and destruction was total within a 200-meter radius. These and other data formed the basis of the material we used to construct that war-like scenario, in which seven people were killed and hundreds were injured, with bodies burned or mutilated.

Data collection was the central task, supported by blueprints, information provided by the municipality, and other institutions willing to collaborate.

During this phase, we took photographs and obtained documents that were difficult to access digitally, allowing us to complement official information with our own records and enrich the visual reconstruction. In parallel, an investigative journalist was responsible for obtaining the court files and expert reports, which also guided the visualisations.

The result was a narrative that combined animated scenes of the tragedy with references from the judicial investigation, which, after years, determined that the goal had been to justify the disappearance of weapons that had been illegally sold to countries at war.

Engaging readers

The story became the most-read article on the day of publication and generated strong reader engagement.

The metrics reflected the enormous interest generated by an event that marked Argentina’s history and had never before been told with this level of depth.

The production recorded nearly 40,000 pageviews on its publication day (the average is 12,000), and 22,250 pageviews came from subscribers — that is, 62% of the total. This is a percentage we pay close attention to, as it represents our most demanding audience and, at the same time, the one we aim to reach with high-quality proposals.

Reading time also exceeded the average, reaching four minutes and three seconds (4:03). This metric is also highly valued, as it reflects our audience’s satisfaction with the content. Comments on the article were a record, with 340 users sharing their opinions, perspectives, memories of that date, and their appreciation for bringing back into the public agenda an event that must not be forgotten. 

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