Juan Pio Paiva (above) and his son Daniel

The indictments in Paraguay's worst disaster in decades came after investigators said a security guard told them that when the Aug. 1 fire broke out, the doors were ordered locked to prevent looting.

Channel 13 television reported that Juan Pio Paiva, the store's co-owner, his son, Daniel, and four security guards had been formally charged with involuntary manslaughter for allegedly locking the doors "so no one would leave without paying."

One of the guards even shot at a firefighter who sought to break down the doors, according to Fire Brigade Commander Oscar Ojeda.

The blaze broke out during lunch hour at the three-story supermarket in a suburb of Asuncion, the capital. Flames quickly spread through the Ycua Bolanos supermarket, food court and parking garage. Officials said they were checking reports that an exploding gas canister could have started the flames that forced one floor to collapse, crushing cars and burning many bodies beyond recognition.

Authorities Aug. 6 revised the death toll from the blaze to 369, a reduction of nearly 100 people from the last count. Deputy Interior Minister Eustaquio Colman said that several names had been counted more than once in the previous death toll, which had reached 464 Aug. 4.

The Japan Times Weekly: Aug. 14, 2004
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