While the investigation to determine the causes of the terrible fire of the Corbières is only in its infancy, the regional center of the Montpellier prosecution speaks this Wednesday, August 13, of an investigation risking to be long, taking into account the additional investigations to be carried out. The criminal track is confirmed.
In the investigation carried out on the origins and consequences of the devastating and murderous fire having ravaged the Corbières massif in the Aude between Tuesday 5 and Thursday, August 7, it is now the regional center of the Montpellier prosecution that directs the investigations, the Carcassonne prosecutor’s office. As a reminder, it is the research brigades (BR) of Carcassonne and Narbonne who are in charge of investigating, with the precious support of the gendarmes of the research section (SR) of Montpellier.
This Wednesday, August 13, it is in this context that the Public Prosecutor of Montpellier joined and confirmed the remarks made on August 12 by the mayor of Ribaute Alain Coste in our columns, about a track of the throttle no longer holding the road. “As the investigations of gendarmes and specialized services, it appeared that this fire had an anthropogenic origin (done by a human being, editor’s note)any natural cause being excluded. These same experts believe that in view of the conditions of this start of fire, it could have a criminal cause resulting from a voluntary act “.
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Fire of the century in Aude: “The track of a cigarette megot does not hold the road at all” admits Alain Coste, mayor of Ribaute
“Howeverspecifies the Montpellier prosecution, This first expertise necessarily requires to be confirmed by numerous additional investigations, the duration of which can be important “. For this reason, “A college of two investigating judges was seized given the human, environmental and material consequences of this fire”.
As a reminder, a fire broke out on August 5 at around 4:15 p.m. between the municipalities of Ribaute and Lagrasse, along the D 212. This fire then extended to at least five municipalities, imposing the commitment of many firefighters and their equipment. The balance sheet is particularly high in terms of victims, since a person died in the fire of his house. There are also two seriously injured, as well as several light injured people including twenty firefighters. Environmental damage is also extremely important, since the fire has traveled around 17,000 hectares, including approximately 4,100 ha of garrigues and moors, 4,700 ha of resinous foods, 800 ha of coppice, and 2,200 ha of crops. Fire also crossed 100 ha of urbanized or artificialized areas, causing the destruction of at least thirty-six housing and many vehicles.
