ROME (Reuters)
- An Italian magistrate said on Friday he had charged 10 civil
engineers with responsibility for the condition of a campsite
in southern Italy where flash floods killed 13 people last September.
After nearly
three months of investigations, Magistrate Mario Spagnuolo, from
the southern district of Catanzaro, in Calabria, said a large
part of the blame for the deaths lay with those who were responsible
for the location of the campsite and its upkeep.
The campsite
was built on the bed of the river Beltrame, which had been dry
for years but which was flooded in hours in heavy rains on September
9-10.
A wall of
mud and water swept through the site, at the toe of Italy, in
the early hours of the morning, submerging camper vans and tents.
Several disabled people were among the dead.
Prime Minister
Giuliano Amato pledged at the time to do all in his power to track
down those responsible for the lax construction and mismanagement
which he said had contributed to the scale of the disaster.
The state
announced that it was launching an official inquiry when it emerged
that the local authority was responsible for the land on which
the campsite was built.
The magistrate
said those charged all worked in varying capacities for the local
authority.
The magistrate's
action did not list specific charges against the 10. The case
will now go into further investigation before a trial.
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