They were on trial for involuntary manslaughter, eleven years after the collapse of an HLM bar, in the Wilson district, in Reims. The prosecution requested this Thursday the release of the three defendantstwo companies and a technician, after four days of trial at the Reims criminal court. On April 28, 2013, an explosion had blown away part of a building and caused the death of three people. Sixteen people were also injured.
Among the defendants, there was first the Reims company Field mouse who had installed the boilers in the building and the Nancy company Must Multiservices who was responsible for maintenance. One of the technicians from this company also appeared before the judges. He had been in the building some time before the disaster.
Uncertainties about the origin of the explosion
The origin of the tragedy has not been clearly established. Three expertises have in turn blamed a gas tap leak or the burners of a gas stove left open. None was able to establish with certainty the responsibility of the defendants.
It is these persistent uncertainties which motivated the representative of the prosecution, Mathilde Campagnie, to request acquittal. The defense moved in: the lawyers for the three defendants made the same request. The criminal court’s decision will be rendered on August 27, at 2 p.m.
