The expert appointed by the Charleroi Public Prosecutor following the leisure centre explosion in Chimay, on August 25th, is leaning towards an accidental cause for this incident. The explosion may have been caused a leak in the gas bottle stock.
On August 25th, shortly before midnight, a violent explosion destroyed the “Le Châlon” sports centre in Chimay.
Quickly arriving on site, the emergency services had discovered five individuals amongst the debris. Four of these were members of the Athletic Jogging Club in Oise.
One of the victims died on the spot whilst the others, with varying degrees of injury, had to be admitted to hospital.
With the building on the verge of collapse, immediate reinforcement and stabilisation works had to be completed upon the building by a specialist company, before moving on to compiling legal expert reports.
Video surveillance hard disks were recovered in the rubble and analysed by investigators.
The Charleroi Public Prosecutor’s Office, states that initial evidence gathered by the appointed expert points to the incident being an accident. There may have a gas leak in the gas bottle stock.
The Public Prosecutor, Vincent Fiasse, added that “However, further homework needs to be completed before finally concluding the investigation.”
The Brussels Times
