The families of the sailors who lost their lives in the sinking of the Bugaled Breizh will be able to keep pieces of the wreckage, the dismantling of which will begin in April, nineteen years after the tragedy, we learned on Wednesday from a source close to the case.
"
The work (of dismantling, editor's note) will most likely take place during the so-called spring school holidays, i.e. in the second half of April
", writes Rennes Attorney General Frédéric Benet-Chambellan in an email to family lawyers. , of which AFP obtained a copy.
“Keep searching for the truth”
It was the Navaleo company which was responsible for dismantling the wreckage, kept at the Brest naval base.
In his email, the magistrate invites the victims and their families "
who would like to recover one or more pieces
" to let him know "
quickly, knowing (...) that it is imperative that they agree among themselves
" .
“
No one having rights superior to others, I myself cannot decide in any way in the event of a claim for the same object by several
”, underlines the Attorney General.
Contacted by AFP, the public prosecutor's office did not respond on Wednesday afternoon.
The family of shipowner Michel Douce asked to recover the anchor and the steering wheel, while the SOS Bugaled association asked to keep the propeller, the name of the boat painted above the gangway, the joysticks winch, the hull number painted on the sheet metal and about 20 pieces of the hull, according to an email exchange.
In his response to the magistrate, Me Dominique Tricaud, lawyer for the families, also requests the organization of a “
memorial ceremony
” on the site on Saturday April 8 at 3:00 p.m.
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Thierry Lemétayer, whose mechanic father died in the accident, spoke to AFP of "
a kind of farewell
" in "
homage to the five missing sailors
".
But “
we will continue to seek the truth
,” he warned.
French justice dismissed the case while British justice found a fishing accident.
For the relatives of the victims, the Bugaled Breizh, registered in Guilvinec (Finistère), was sent to the bottom by a submarine which would have gotten caught in its fishing gear.
Because at the same time a NATO military exercise was taking place in the sector involving several European and American submarines.
The 24-meter vessel sank in one minute at 80 meters depth on January 15, 2004, while fishing off Cape Lizard (Cornwall).