Five years after the death of three teenagers during a chemical explosion in Bas-en-Basset (Haute-Loire), justice ordered new expertises which " relaunch the ongoing investigation ", welcomed Wednesday Alain Saez, spokesperson for the families of the victims. Himself the father of one of the teenagers killed, Mr. Saez told AFP of his " satisfaction at having been heard by the courts ".
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The two orders, taken in July by the investigating judge of Puy-en-Velay in charge of the case, relate in particular to biological and physico-chemical analyzes of the seals. They aim in particular to characterize the conditions of manufacture and explosion of TATP, the explosive whose residues were found at the scene of the tragedy.
The ETA track envisaged
This homemade explosive, also called acetone peroxide, is frequently used by terrorist groups. And according to Me Gilles-Jean Portejoie, the lawyer for families, " the trail of an ETA (Basque separatist organization, editor's note) cache is not excluded ". In August 2019, a judicial investigation for “ involuntary homicides ” had been opened in Puy-en-Velay following a complaint with the constitution of civil party of the parents of the victims, while the justice had closed the case the year former.
On June 13, 2015, three teenagers aged 14 to 16, who were playing in a stone hut, were killed in a chemical explosion. A fourth, seriously injured, had survived. The only survivor had questioned the thesis of the investigators according to which the group of friends were preparing smoke and explosives to play airsoft, a combat simulation game cousin to paintball. According to him, the four teenagers would have discovered at the scene a bag containing chemicals. Two of his comrades would then approach it and the explosion would have occurred at that time.