The families of eight people killed in the Los Gallardos wildfire have formally joined court proceedings to establish any potential criminal liability.
A court in Vera has granted the relatives the status of private prosecutors, allowing them to play an active role in any future criminal proceedings arising from the July blaze.
The decision represents a significant step forward in the judicial investigation into Andalucia’s deadliest wildfire in recent history.
According to the High Court of Justice of Andalucia (TSJA), the families were formally admitted to the proceedings after completing the required legal process last Friday.
Each applicant was required to make an individual request and provide evidence establishing their relationship to one of the victims.
Three of the eight families attended the court in Vera in person, while representatives of another five joined proceedings by videoconference from different parts of Europe.
A ninth family’s application was postponed at the request of their lawyer.
Families demand investigation
The legal action follows formal complaints previously made to the Guardia Civil by relatives reporting their loved ones missing in the aftermath of the inferno.
Officers subsequently carried out checks to establish the identities of those making the reports and confirm their relationship with the victims.
That work has now allowed the court to formally offer relatives the opportunity to participate in the proceedings.
The TSJA said relatives of the remaining victims can also apply to join the case at any point.
Several families have already publicly demanded a thorough investigation into how the disaster was handled.
Relatives who attended court last Friday included children of victims such as Belgian businessman Stanislas Verdonckt, as well as relatives of British couple Pete and Fran.
They have raised serious questions over the evacuation response, alleging that residents received no warnings or emergency alerts on their mobile phones as the flames tore through the area.
Those allegations will now form part of the wider scrutiny surrounding the response to the catastrophe.
Fire spread at extraordinary speed
The Los Gallardos wildfire burned approximately 5,200 hectares after erupting on July 9.
At its most extreme, the blaze was reported to have advanced at around 128 metres per minute, overwhelming parts of the Levante Almeriense and ultimately claiming 14 lives.
The scale of the tragedy has also triggered a political battle over whether emergency protocols were adequate.
Questions have focused particularly on the operation of Andalucia’s Plan Infoca wildfire response system and the use – or lack of use – of the ES-Alert emergency mobile warning system.
Political parties have traded demands for explanations and parliamentary investigations over the handling of the disaster.
The court proceedings in Vera now provide a separate judicial route for establishing whether any criminal responsibility arose from the events surrounding the fire.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
