Six face charges for Paraguay fire
The co-owner of a Paraguayan supermarket and five others have been charged with manslaughter for a fire that killed 464 people, after a security guard testified he was ordered to lock the burning store’s doors to prevent looting, trapping shoppers inside.
Owner Juan Pio Paiva rejected the allegations as he was taken to jail in the capital Asuncion, shouting: “My conscience is clear.”
Meanwhile, desperate relatives searched for family members missing since the fire on Sunday, but the destruction and the intensity of the blaze made it likely that some bodies would never be found.
Maria Ines Florentin, despondent at not being able to find her 19-year-old sister Angelica, cried out for help.
“Please, if you have any clues to my sister, I am desperate,” she said. “I’ve been to the hospitals, to the morgue and she’s not on any list and I can’t find her anywhere.”
Interior Minister Orlando Fiorott said early evidence pointed to an accidental gas leak that quickly ignited the store merchandise. He said there were no signs of sabotage or arson.
“The investigations clearly point toward a gas leak and the rapid combustion of the merchandise,” said Fiorotto, cautioning that findings were only preliminary.
With the supermarket still reeking of smoke, Paiva, a business associate, and four security guards were charged with involuntary manslaughter.
