The Prosecutor's Office will take the two defendants in the Santa Ana incident that occurred in 2023 in the Bío Bío region to trial, with charges imminent for arson, negligent homicide and injuries, as well as damages.
The lawyer for the electricity company Coelcha, meanwhile, stated that they have the evidence to prove that the devastation was not caused by the company's employees.
It was in February 2023 when the flames devastated 70 thousand hectares of forest and vegetation in the communes of Nacimiento and Santa Juana, with the most serious being the loss of human life—17 fatalities—in addition to dozens of injured.
A year later, in March 2024, the Public Ministry formalized the investigation and pointed to two workers of the Charrúa Electric Cooperative for the lack of maintenance in the safety strip, allowing trees to brush against the power lines and start the forest fire.
More than two years after the charges were filed against supervisor Gregorio Medina and contractor Enrique Mercado, prosecutor Jorge Lorca confirmed the imminent closure of the investigation and the indictment to take the defendants to trial.
The mayor of Santa Juana, Ángel Castro, said he would have expected a faster response from the justice system, but that in light of this new stage, he will coordinate with the mayor of Nacimiento, Carlos Toloza, both plaintiffs in the case.
"In the coming days, the mayor of Nacimiento and I, along with both legal teams, will meet to coordinate joint actions," Castro stated.
To that, he added, "What one hopes is that these processes are faster, that the corresponding sanctions can already be applied, and that compensation is also provided, of course, to the families who lost their homes, and unfortunately in some cases even the lives of relatives."
On behalf of the defense of the Coelcha employees, lawyer Marcelo Villena indicated that they were aware of the Prosecutor's Office's next step, and that in that scenario—he assured—they have the evidence to seek an acquittal verdict.
"It will be at the trial preparation hearing where we will offer the evidence we have to incorporate into the trial hearing and establish that the responsibility for the investigated fire, the unfortunate fire investigated by the Prosecutor's Office, is in no way that of my clients Enrique Mercado and Gregorio Medina," Villena stated.
The closure of the investigation is expected to be formalized on May 25, when a hearing is scheduled at the Nacimiento Guarantee Court, which the Public Ministry, the plaintiffs, and the defense of the defendants are summoned to attend.
Source:BiobioChile
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