20.02.2012

 

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

 

 

The Public Information and Press Relations Bureau within the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice is authorized to bring to public knowledge the following:

 

 

The First Deputy prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office attached to Maramureș Tribunal ordered, on 20.02.2012, the take over of the case „Sighetu Marmației explosion”. The case was initially registered at the Prosecutor’s Office attached to Sighetu Marmației Local Court. The case investigations will be carried out for the offences of: bodily injury by fault, destruction by fault and offences provided in the occupational health and safety law.  

Ms. Laura Codruța Kovesi, General Prosecutor of the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice appointed the Chief Service Prosecutor of the Forensics Department, Marius Foitoș within Criminal and Forensics Section from the Prosecutor’s Office attached to the High Court of Cassation and Justice to coordinate the investigations and offer professional support to the prosecutors within the Prosecutor’s Office attached to Maramureș Tribunal.

On the site, the investigations are also carried out today, 20.02.2012, being executed by mixed professional teams coordinated by prosecutors. Inspectors from the Maramureș Labour Inspection and professionals from the National Institute for Research and Development in mine safety and protection to explosion Petroșani were required and present on site, being recruited in the investigation team. Also, the outside research of the event site was carried out on 19.02.2012, between 10.00 - 23.00 hours.  

            We mention that, the first investigations revealed the fact that, during the night of 18/19.02.2012, around 0100 hours, an explosion took place in a club situated on the central street of Sighetu Marmației Municipality. Preliminary data of the case show the fact that the explosion has been triggered in the toilet of the premises, where there were seven young women using open fire (lighter), for the lighting of cigarettes.

          Soon, on site an investigation team arrived, consisting in  workers from I.P.J Maramureș (Police Inspectorate) and Sighetu Marmației Municipality Police, I.S.U Maramureș and representatives of SC “B.G.” SRL, the company which executed the work introducing the gas supply system in Sighetu Marmației Municipality. The seven persons injured have suffered bodily burns, being transported to the hospitals from Maramureș Municipality, and subsequently, by a military aircraft to hospital units in the capital.

          Because the club where the explosion took place was not connected to gas, the investigation team executed check outs in other spaces from the same building, in order to detect gas leaks and seepage.

            During the day of 19.02.2012, around 1000 hours, the investigation team entered a space (ex notary office) belonging to a public notary, together with its owner. The representatives of SC “B.G.” SRL,   were equipped with a gas detector. Initially it was not detected the presence of the gas in the respective  space, but when the device indicated the presence of the gas accumulation in the room, instantly it was produced a new explosion, resulting in bodily injuries (burns and trauma) of 14 individuals being inside the checked space. The persons were transported to the hospital units in the municipality - Sighetu Marmației și Baia Mare, and subsequently some of them were sent, for proper medical care, to the specialized hospitals in Bucharest.   

 

          Following the two explosions, it was produced the destruction of the building in proportion of 75%. After the second explosion on the two streets, the gas was closed, and the teams within SC „B. G.” SRL and „E. ON GAZ” continued the check outs with gas detectors in order to identify possible gas leaks in the network. The research executed on site revealed that at the crossroad of the two streets, the gas concentration was very high. On the stripping of the gas pipeline it has been found a crack at the “T”  joining of the pipes.  These have been taken for expertise.

            Up to this moment of the investigations, there have been taken documents from SC „B. G.” SRL, persons present in the local club have been identified and heard, the persons supposed to know aspects in connection with the event, employees of the company that executed the work.

          Investigations continue in the case, and special expertise and the administration of all the evidences will be ordered for the purpose of elucidating all the circumstances and for the establishment of the criminal responsibility.

         

As the investigations go on, we will inform the public opinion.