The eleven people who were in court can breathe again.
Accused of negligent homicide in the trial of the deadliest fire in Portugal, which occurred in Pedrogao Grande in June 2017, they were all acquitted on Tuesday by the court in Leiria (center).
While shortcomings in preventing and fighting this forest fire were indeed established during the trial, the presiding judge Maria Clara Santos considered that the scale of the tragedy, which killed 63 people, had been caused by a natural phenomenon of "unique and totally unpredictable" violence.
Planet
Portugal: The flames continue to wreak havoc in the country, in the grip of a heat wave
Planet
Portugal: The huge fire in the natural park is “under control”, the firefighters still on alert
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Portugal
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Fire
Forest fires