Blast factory boss faces jail term

JUDGES have been asked to jail the boss of the AZF chemical fertiliser plant for three years after the 2001 blast at Toulouse that killed 31 people, injured more than 2,000 and devastated 30,000 homes.

Speaking after a four-month trial, prosecutor Patrice Michel demanded the maximum penalty for factory director Serge Biechlin and a €45,000 fine. He also called for AZF parent company Grande Paroisse to be fined €225,000.

Prosecutors said bosses at Total, the parent company of Grande Paroisse, should not face any penalty.

The tribunal will return with its verdict next Monday after ruling that the explosion was an accident caused when a chlorine-based product and ammonium nitrate were stored together and sparked an explosive reaction.

Other witnesses pointed to "a string of errors and negligence" on the part of management and AZF staff.

Grande Paroisse lawyers had blamed a terrorist attack – something that many had feared at the time of the explosion, just ten days after the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington DC.

The AZF factory was destroyed in the blast that left a crater 200metres wide by 60m deep. Steel girders were found 3km away. The blast was heard for 50 miles and two-thirds of the windows in Toulouse were shattered.
Photo: Anton Merlina-Bonnafous