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.
A humanoid robot that won a half-marathon race for robots in Beijing on Sunday ran faster than the human world record in a show of China’s technological leaps. The winner from Honor, a Chinese smartphone maker, completed the 21km race in 50 minutes and 26 seconds, said a WeChat post by the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area, also known as Beijing E-Town, where the race began. That was faster than the human world record holder, Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo, who finished the same distance in about 57 minutes in March at the Lisbon road race. The performance by the robot marked a significant step forward
Four contenders are squaring up to succeed Antonio Guterres as secretary-general of the UN, which faces unprecedented global instability, wars and its own crushing budget crisis. Chile’s Michelle Bachelet, Argentina’s Rafael Grossi, Costa Rica’s Rebeca Grynspan and Senegal’s Macky Sall are each to face grillings by 193 member states and non-governmental organizations for three hours today and tomorrow. It is only the second time the UN has held a public question-and-answer, a format created in 2016 to boost transparency. Ultimately the five permanent members of the UN’s top body, the Security Council, hold the power, wielding vetoes over who leads the
An earthquake registering a preliminary magnitude of 7.7 off northern Japan on Monday prompted a short-lived tsunami alert and the advisory of a higher risk of a possible mega-quake for coastal areas there. The Cabinet Office and the Japan Meteorological Agency said there was a 1% chance for a mega-quake, compared to a 0.1% chance during normal times, in the next week or so following the powerful quake near the Chishima and Japan trenches. Officials said the advisory was not a quake prediction but urged residents in 182 towns along the northeastern coasts to raise their preparedness while continuing their daily lives. Prime
HAZARDOUS CONDITION: The typhoon’s sheer size, with winds extending 443km from its center, slowed down the ability of responders to help communities, an official said The US Coast Guard was searching for six people after losing contact with their disabled boat off the coast of Guam following Typhoon Sinlaku. The crew of the 44m dry cargo vessel, the US-registered Mariana, on Wednesday notified the coast guard that the boat had lost its starboard engine and needed assistance, Petty Officer 3rd Class Avery Tibbets said yesterday. The coast guard set up a one-hour communication schedule with the vessel, but lost contact on Thursday. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft was launched to search for the six people on board, but it had to return to Guam because of
RSS