Published
Video duration:
1 minute
Three and a half years after the fire in a building in Strasbourg, in which five people were killed, two men have been appearing, since Tuesday, September 19, before the Bas-Rhin Assize Court. They are accused of knowingly throwing a cigarette into the building’s electrical cabinet.
A dozen lawyers and more than 70 civil parties, for one of the deadliest fires that Alsace has known. In the room are the two accused. This is the first contact with the survivors and the families of the deceased victims. Sarah’s father, Joël Giunta is here. Her daughter’s body was found on the eighth floor. “I need to understand first (…) It’s totally inhumane.”he emphasizes.
An accident according to the accused
What happened during that night in winter 2020? A cigarette butt thrown into an electrical box allegedly caused the fire in the building, which was regularly squatted and visited by drug users. The two young people were filmed by surveillance cameras. One of them has a cigarette in his hand. Accused has admitted to having thrown a butt, but assures that what followed was an accident, and that there was nothing intentional. The words are hard for families to hear.