A firefighter and a forestry employee were arrested on suspicion of starting a fire that killed 137 people in the city of Vina del Mar.
Authorities in Chile have arrested a firefighter and a forestry official on suspicion of starting a fire that killed 137 people in the resort town of Vina del Mar in February.
“An arrest warrant was issued today against the person who started the fires in February in the Valparaíso region,” where Vina del Mar is located, police director Eduardo Cerna said at a press conference.
Shortly afterwards, the Valparaíso Regional Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the arrest of a second suspect, an employee of the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), the body responsible for fighting forest fires and managing national parks.
The two men will be remanded into custody on Saturday on charges of arson resulting in death.
Several fires broke out simultaneously on February 2 around the coastal city of Vina del Mar, 70 miles (110 km) northwest of Chile’s capital, Santiago.
The inferno, the world’s second deadliest this century, was fueled by winds and a heat wave that reached temperatures of around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
Local media reported that the firefighter is a 22-year-old man who joined the volunteer force a year and a half ago.
“We are completely devastated by what happened, it is a totally isolated incident… we have served Valparaíso for more than 170 years and we cannot allow such things,” Vicente Maggiolo, commander of the 13th Fire Company of the city of Valparaíso, told reporters.
‘An intentional attack’
Ivan Navarro, head of the environmental crimes investigation authority, said detectives have reconstructed what the arrested firefighter did before, during and after the fire.
“We were able to determine the exact locations where the fires broke out and find the device that started them,” he said. “We were also able to determine the involvement of a second person, accused of being the author of the arson.
“He gave him the knowledge to make these devices and also told him the exact times he needed to operate for the fire to cause the most damage,” Navarro said.
Investigators from the Public Prosecutor’s Office discovered that the inferno started with small simultaneous fires near Lake Penuelas, in the port city of Valparaíso, near Vina del Mar. Hot and windy weather quickly spread the flames.
“There were approximately four outbreaks, equidistant from each other,” said prosecutor Osvaldo Ossandon.
The materials used to start the fire were found in the home of one of the suspects, he said. Investigators were also looking into possible links to other arson incidents.
It was unclear what the motive for the arson was.
“We all… knew it was an intentional attack,” said Vina del Mar Mayor Macarena Ripamonti. “Today we can have that degree of certainty.”
Firefighters were unable to reach the fire due to a lack of roads or were trapped in narrow city streets lined with charred cars.
“This is, first and foremost, an act of justice and reparation for those who lost their lives in the fire, for their families, for those who lost all their property, their sources of work and struggle to this day”, said the Minister of the Interior, Carolina. Toha said.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
