Six people were indicted for manslaughter after allegedly locking a crowded Asuncion store to prevent theft during a massive blaze, court sources said Tuesday, as some reports of the death toll rose as high as 464.
Juan Pio Paiva, who owns the Ycua Bolanos shopping center, his son Daniel and four security guards are formally accused of locking the doors "so no one would leave without paying," the sources said.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The charges claim Daniel Paiva ordered security personnel to shut all exits, and helped them do so, thereby preventing hundreds of clients from fleeing the building and "causing the death of more than 300 people."
Authorities on Tuesday updated the toll, saying 367 people had been killed and 409 injured in Sunday's blaze on the outskirts of the Paraguayan capital.
"Children, women and men were burned to death or asphyxiated, and hundreds more suffered severe burns," the charges said.
Public prosecutor Edgar Sanchez quoted one of the guards as telling investigators he had "heard over internal radio an order to close the exit doors."
Sanchez and fellow prosecutor Teresa Sosa asked that the six be held in preventive detention and that authorities seize their assets up to a value of US$10 million.
All six suspects were charged with manslaughter.
The prosecutors also requested that the store's manager, Humberto Casaccia, be placed under house arrest for allegedly "failing to render assistance."
Casaccia is accused of fleeing the scene rather than help those trapped inside the store during the blaze.
At one stage one of the guards shot at a firefighter who sought to break down one of the doors, according to fire brigade Commander Oscar Ojeda.
"Eventually a mass of people pushed the door, opened it and rushed out," Ojeda said.
"For a few cents, people lost their lives," said Judge Rafael Fernandez, who is working on the investigation.
Juan Pio Paiva on Monday told local TV that he did not order the doors be locked.
"I don't believe I'm the least bit to blame," he said, adding that "until now I am convinced the doors were not locked."
The shopping center consists of a supermarket as well as several restaurants.
It burned to the ground in about 30 minutes, apparently after the explosion of a propane gas tank.
Brazilian, Chilean, Colombian, Spanish and US experts joined Paraguayan investigators at the scene on Tuesday.
Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay sent planeloads of medical supplies and personnel.
Other countries, including Bolivia, Cuba, France, Germany, Mexico and the US, have offered help.
Paraguay on Sunday announced that there would be three days of national mourning.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number