Alto Río building collapse

The Alto Río building (Spanish: Edificio Alto Río) was a 14-story apartment building located on Los Carrera Avenue, in the city of Concepción, Chile. Just one year after its completion, the building collapsed and broke in half due to the 2010 Chile earthquake.

Alto Río building collapse
Date27 February 2010 (2010-02-27)
Time3:34 a.m. (UTC-3)
LocationConcepción, Biobío Region, Chile
TypeStructural failure
Cause2010 Chile earthquake
Casualties
8 dead, 70+ injured

Collapse

Alto Río was the only multi-story building that collapsed completely during the 8.8 earthquake that hit central Chile on 27 February, 2010. At 3:34 a.m. local time (6:34 a.m UTC), the full structure gave way and trapped most of its residents inside. The official final death toll counted 8 people, while nearly other 70 were rescued alive with injuries.[1]

On January 2011, the former residents were allowed to enter and recover some of their personal belongings. Many stated they could take some valued objects and others were able to retrieve their cars.[2]

Investigation

The legal case was known as "Alto Río Case" and lasted for over two years, including four months of hearings, thus becoming the longest trial process after the 2000-2005 Chilean Judicial Reform. The defendants were: construction company Socovil's CEO Juan Ignacio Ortigosa, sales manager Felipe Parra, engineers René Petinelli and Pedro Ortigosa, project manager Ricardo Baeza, construction director Mario Valeria and construction managers Héctor Torres and José Luis Paredes. On 31 October, 2012, all but engineer Petinelli were acquitted.[3] The ruling caused public outrage, even among governmental authorities and parliament members.[4]

References
  1. "Encuentran el cuerpo del único desaparecido en edificio Alto Río de Concepción" (in Spanish). 9 March 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. "Ex habitantes de Alto Río de Concepción rescatan objetos desde las ruinas del edificio" (in Spanish). 15 January 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  3. "Sólo uno de los 8 imputados es condenado por desplome del edificio Alto Río" (in Spanish). 31 October 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  4. "Indignación tras fallo favorable a imputados por colapso del edificio Alto Río" (in Spanish). 31 October 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.