Alstom faces a collective fine of nearly 45 million euros in Brazil. The French manufacturer was convicted along with other companies by a Brazilian court in a case involving a collapse on a construction site that left seven people dead.
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The French manufacturer Alstom was sentenced, along with other companies and officials, to a collective fine of nearly 45 million euros by a Brazilian court for a collapse that killed seven people in 2007 on the construction site of a metro line in Sao Paulo.
On January 12, 2007, workers were carrying out excavation work for the Pinheiros metro station, in the west of the Brazilian economic capital, when a large sinkhole opened up, swallowing up part of a nearby road. Pedestrians and vehicles were swept away in a pile of earth, asphalt and concrete. Seven people were killed and more than 90 buildings in the area had to be demolished or condemned.
Despite signs of structural weakness at the tunnel site, “ the drilling was carried out in an already fragile location, and the necessary support structures were not immediately installed “, wrote Judge Marcos de Lima Porta in his judgment, published Friday. “ This approach proved not only dangerous, but also negligent, clearly putting the site at imminent risk of collapse. “.
The court of justice of the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil ordered six people, at the time responsible for the company managing the metro, and seven companies involved in the project to pay a collective fine of 240 million reais ( 44.8 million euros), estimating that their “ administrative misconduct » had led to the collapse.
The decision, which can be appealed, also bans the convicted officials from working in the public sector and the companies involved from contracting public contracts in Brazil for five years.
Other sanctioned companies include Brazilian construction and engineering giants OAS (now Grupo Metha), Queiroz Galvao, Camargo Correa and CBPO, a subsidiary of Odebrecht (now Novonor). Contacted by AFP, none of these companies immediately commented.
(with AFP)