The Dominican Republic prosecutor’s office announced on Thursday that it had charged one of the owners of Vidal Plast, the plastics workshop behind the August 14 explosion that killed 37 people and injured 59 around twenty kilometers from the capital.
José Guerrero, one of the prosecutors in charge of the case, told the press that Edward Vidal was “for now” charged with “manslaughter for violation of the Health and Environmental Code.”
Prosecutors are also demanding “one year of preventive detention” for Mr. Vidal, guarantees and an appearance for his wife and daughter, Mr. Guerrero added.
On Wednesday, Dominican authorities arrested Mr. Vidal and Ms. Maribel Sandoval, owners of Vidal Plast, and their daughter during a police raid on their San Cristobal home where the fire broke out.
A preliminary fire department report dated August 18 and released to the press this week indicated that the epicenter of the detonation was the company’s headquarters.
The workshop “contained accumulations of gases and combustible materials that could have caused the explosion through sparks, ignition, heat or friction,” that document states.
Firefighters discovered that Vidal Plast was the subject of a smoke report in March. A product has been discovered that must be stored at temperatures below 20°C and is very sensitive to temperature fluctuations, sparks and moisture.
The prosecutor’s office also said that “15 people have been identified so far” and “22 bodies are being identified.”
A previous report reported 33 deaths.
The toll could have been significantly higher; many buildings in the commercial area where the explosion occurred were unoccupied because a parking lot was under construction.