Formalize executives and former CGE technicians for forest fires that occurred in the Maule
Formalize executives and former CGE technicians for forest fires that occurred in the Maule
26 October 2017
published by http://www.latercera.com
CHILE: This for his alleged responsibility in two accidents that affected last summer to the communes of Vichuquén and Licantén.
Two executives of CGE Distribución SA of the Maule Region and two former employees of the technical area of the same company were formalized today for the crimes of forest fire and obstruction of the investigation.
This after eight months of diligences tending to clarify the possible responsibilities in two fires occurred during last summer in the communes of Vichuquén and Licantén, which affected 71 people and destroyed 7. 325 hectares of forest and vegetation.
The zonal technical manager, Juan Manuel Ortega, who had already been formalized by four fires that occurred in Curepto; along with the head of maintenance of Curicó, Guillermo Gutiérrez; and the former worker of the technical area of the company, Juan Rojas; they were formalized by the presumed crime of forest fire for reckless or negligent use of a heat source, contemplated in the forest law, whose penalty ranges from 61 days to 3 years of imprisonment.
Meanwhile, the former head of maintenance, Carlos Riquelme, and Juan Rojas, they were charged for obstructing the investigation, whose penalty ranges from 61 to 541 days of imprisonment.
According to the proceedings conducted by the Maule Prosecutor’s Office, the presumed negligent act of the defendants in the maintenance of the security strips under the power line, resulted in trees falling on the drivers, causing a fire in the Higuerillas sector, Vichuquén district, on January 21, and at kilometer 82 of the J60 route, Licantén commune, on February 23.
“It was established that, as in the four fires in the commune of Curepto, we were facing deficient work by the company in terms of maintenance, pruning, rose and cutting trees that were in the vicinity of the lines , which, ultimately, caused the fires, “said Maule’s regional prosecutor, Mauricio Richards.
The court set eight months as the deadline for the investigation and ordered national arraignment and monthly signature for Ortega, Riquelme and Rojas, while for Guillermo Gutiérrez only national arraigo was ordered.
With regard to the precautionary measures decreed, Richards indicated that “it is a guilty charge, because we have not gathered any information that accounts for a behavior that goes beyond negligence, in addition it is about people who still work in the company and we believe that in the course of the next few months we will be able to obtain some type of reparation for the victims or opt for the sanctions established by law. ”
