Culpable disaster, culpable homicide and culpable injury. These are the criminal charges contested, at various levels, against five individuals as part of the investigation into the explosion of a GPL tank that occurred on July 4 of last year at a fuel station on Via dei Gordiani, in Rome, a tragedy that claimed the life of Claudio Ercoli, aged 67.
The Rome Public Prosecutor's Office has served notice of the conclusion of preliminary investigations, a step that generally precedes a request for committal to trial. The investigation, coordinated by deputy prosecutor Giovanni Conso, made use of findings carried out by the judicial police unit of the local health authority (ASL), the Mobile Squad, the Scientific Police of the Rome Police Headquarters, the fire brigade and the Tor Pignattara police station, as well as technical support provided by experts from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
According to the conclusions of a technical consultancy ordered by investigators, the explosion was caused by the detachment of the tank's dispenser nozzle, which remained attached to the fuel station's tank at the end of the refuelling operations. The tanker truck allegedly drove away with the coupling still connected, causing the connection to break, GPL to leak out, a subsequent fire and finally the explosion.
Among those under investigation are the tanker truck driver, the facility manager, the holder of the supply contract, the facility inspector and a company official.
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