They Are Looking For Those Responsible For The Chapecoense Tragedy

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

Bolivian justice has officially declared two of those accused in the Chapecoense tragedy in absentia after they did not appear at a court hearing on the case on Thursday.

The authorities blamed the managers of the LaMia airline and the pilot of the plane, Miguel Quiroa, for the accident that killed 71 people, mostly players and technicians of the Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense.

The defendants who are in search and capture for not appearing in court are the owner of the company, Marco Antonio Rocha, and the official of the Airport Administration Celia Castedo, who would have authorized the takeoff of the LaMia apparatus despite lacking the amount of fuel required by law to fly from the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz to the Colombian city of Medellín.

Both Castedo and Rocha had to attend the hearing on precautionary measures in relation to the charges of wrongful death and failure to perform functions, among others. Not being present, the court has declared them "in default," the AP agency reported.

“This means that the apprehension of the two people is now sought. For this, it is necessary to start the process of an extradition, said the prosecutor who handles the case, Iván Ortiz, according to the agency

The airline's manager, Gustavo Vargas Gamboa, and two company employees were arrested on charges of breach of duty and misuse of influence last December.

Operations Director Cmdte. Marco Antonio Rocha and the Chief of Pilots Cmdte. Miguel Quiroga M

However, Castedo fled to Brazil after denouncing alleged pressure from his superiors to alter his report on the flight, in which - according to her - he registered irregularities such as the amount of fuel on the plane.

De Rocha, who was co-owner of the airline with the late Quiroga, the whereabouts are unknown.

The accident investigators concluded that the device crashed into a hill a few miles from the Medellón airport because it ran out of fuel. The pilot himself warned the control tower shortly before the disaster that he had run out of "fuel" in the final minutes of the flight.