Gema Peñalosa Madrid

Madrid

Updated Friday, March 22, 2024-08:48

The captain of the La Reina 2 Infantry Regiment, which carried out the same water crossing exercise in 2021 as the one that caused the death of two soldiers last December under the orders of Captain

Ignacio Zúñiga,

made it clear yesterday before the judge that the maneuver was dangerous and that water should not be crossed if there were no safety measures.

This command that decided, according to the summary to which EL MUNDO has had access, to carry out these maneuvers in a

lateral area of ​​the reservoir because there was no instruction manual

for this type of exercise and because, prior to these maneuvers, it requested reinforcement which was rejected, which led him to change plans.

In addition, this captain carried out another exercise on the Cerro Muriano lake in

2019

and also decided that the soldiers would not enter the lagoon. He did it in an area where he could stand at all times, and

not in the deep part

, as happened on December 21.

During the passage carried out under his supervision in 2019, the maneuver

was carried out in pairs

, with aquatic means and a diver for each pair providing support. The line was a guide and its fundamental function was that if necessary, it could be pulled to help push oneself out of the water.

The exercise was carried out on the watertight backpack that served as a float to support the rifle and propel with the legs.

Captain Zúñiga, according to the summary, did not take any of these precautions and ordered the military to cross the lake with a defective lifeline -

"it was neither rigid nor tense"

- and had not alerted the emergency services to be present in case of a mishap.

This fact meant that when the tragedy occurred, they had to

resort to civilian technical and health means

.

Also yesterday, two civil guards from the Judicial Police testified before the judge, as experts, that they were the ones who carried out the visual inspection of the

Cerro Muriano

reservoir on the day the two soldiers died and who, subsequently, prepared the reports.

The statements came after the reconstruction that took place last Tuesday in Cerro Muriano, attended by the judge, the accused, their lawyers and the family's lawyers. The test was recreated with specialized

Civil Guard divers

whose mission was to check whether the backpacks used by the military floated or not.

According to the lawyers, the bags were not waterproof and did not float, so they did not fulfill their function to carry out the exercise.

Today, Friday, the central statements will take place in the investigation of the case, given that the judge and the parties will be able to hear the testimonies of the

captain, the sergeant and the lieutenant

who are being investigated for the deaths that occurred during the maneuvers in Cerro Muriano on the 21st. from December.