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COSTA RICA |
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Families Of Victims Of Turrubares Accident
To Hold President Arias And Former Minister
Liable
The families of the victims of the tragecy
of Thursday, October 22, when a bus loaded
with 38 people plunged into the Tárcoles
river killing five, are expected to file
criminal charges of murder against Costa
Rican president, Oscar Arias and former
ministra de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT).
Cristóbal Meléndez and José Francisco Arias,
father and husband, respectively, of
Nathalia Meléndez, and the sone of Norma
Jiménez, two fo the victims, are expected to
be the first to life the charges with the
Fiscalía de Atenas.
The families argue that both the president
and his minister were negligent following
reports from engineers of the MOPT have all
stated the knew the bridge was in bad shape
and failed to make the necessary repairs or
take precautions.
As part of the normal course of an
investigation into the accident, yesterday
agents of the Organismo de Investigación
Judicial (OIJ) de Atenas raided the offices
of the former minister of the MOPT to
collect information and evidence related to
the bridge and the accident.
The OIJ agents spent several hours in the
office of the former minister, then moved on
to the office of the current vice-mninister
and possible future minister of the MOPT,
Pedro Castro.
Omar Segura, a MOPT press official, said
that the OIJ agents were active all day,
leaving the MOPT offices in San José after
3pm, looking for all documents related to
the Turrubares failed bridge.
Along with Arias and González, the bus
company and the bus driver may face five
counts of "homicidios culposos y lesiones
culposas contra varias personas" (negligent
homicide and negligent injury against
several persons).
The OIJ investigation and raid on the MOPT
offices is routine, according to OIJ
officials, to determine if there was any
negligence on the part of the MOPT following
studies dating back to 2003 that the failed
bridge was need of urgent repair and that
material to repair the bridge has been
sitting in a MOPT works yard while the
bureaucratic process continued.
Only the earlier had former minister
González said that the bidding for the
bridge work was ready, following years of
delays.
González resigned on Monday as MOPT
minister, a post she held since May 2006.
President Arias said he was reluctant to
accept her resignation, doing so late
Tuesday. A new minister has yet to be
announced.
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