A judicial investigation for "involuntary homicide" was opened after the deaths of three teenagers killed in 2015 in the explosion of chemicals in Bas-en-Basset, Haute-Loire. The court had initially opened a preliminary investigation, before dismissing the case.
"Families want to know the truth"
"Following the civil suit filed in April, an investigating judge was seized and a judicial inquiry was opened", explained Gilles-Jean Portejoie, family lawyer, confirming a information from France 3. "The families are satisfied, they want to know the truth and ask that the justice system gives itself the means to discover this truth.They are not satisfied with what has been done so far", -he adds.
The sole survivor questions the investigators' thesis
On June 13, 2015, three teenagers aged 14 to 16 were killed in a chemical explosion while playing in an abandoned house. A fourth, seriously wounded, had survived. The sole survivor questioned the investigators' thesis that the band of friends were preparing smoke and explosives to play airsoft, a paintball-themed combat simulation game. According to him, the four teenagers discovered on the spot a bag containing chemicals. Two of his comrades would then have approached and the explosion would have occurred at that time.