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COSTA RICA |
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14
Complaints Filed In Bridge Collapse Accident
A total of 14 complaints have been filed
with the Fiscalía de Atenas by those
affected by the tragedy of the failure of
the bridge over the río Grande de Tárcoles
between Turrubares and Orotina on October
22.
That fatal Thursday morning a bus loaded
with 38 passengers plunged into the Tárcoles
river when the fatigue caused the suspension
bridgr to collapse under the weight of the
bus, killing Norma Jiménez Cerdas, 57;
William Gutiérrez Chaves, 54; María Isabel
Artavia Granados, 56; Natalia Meléndez
Quesada, 30; and Efraín Marino Santamaría,
77.
Dozens others were rushed to hospital for
all types of injuries incurred during the
accident.
The only one so far facing the
responsibility for the accident is the bus
driver, 62 year old Victor Salas Vega, who
came out of the accident without a scratch.
So far Salas has refused to give any public
statement on what happened the morning of
the accident.
A minivan arrived at the offices of the
Fiscalía on Friday to sign a formal
complaint on behalf of 24 of the affected.
More are are expected next week.
On Thursday a group had said they would also
be seeking to file charges against Costa
Rican president, Oscar Arias and former
transport minister, Karla González, for
negligence.
At least ten of the injured are still in
hospital or in delicate condition at home.
The Fiscalía de Atenas, however, did not
wait for the complaints to be filed. It has
already begun an investigation into the
accident, including raiding the offices of
the former minister and that of the
vice-minister, Pedro Castro.
Prosecutor Karen Aguilar is at the head of
the investigation with the support of the
Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ),
with the objective of determining what
really happened and who is responsible.
On Friday the Fiscalía said to have up to
5.000 documents on the subject of the fallen
bridge, which now have to be reviewed by
technical experts.
The Fiscalía at this time is not saying
much. The only thing that Javier Gutiérrez,
spokersperson for the Fiscalía would say is
that "this is a complicated case and the
investigation will be thorough".
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