Two charged over double death
Preacher and building manager accused of manslaughter after floor collapse in makeshift church
A PREACHER and a building manager have been arrested and charged with manslaughter after a six-year-old girl and a 47-year-old woman died when a floor collapsed during an Easter service.
Another child is critically ill in hospital and more than 30 other people were injured in the collapse in Stains, Seine-Saint-Denis, north of Paris.
More than 100, mainly Haitian, worshippers were in the first-floor improvised evangelical house of worship on a housing estate when the floor gave way.
It is thought that some of those taking part were survivors of the 2010 Haiti earthquake in which more than 300,000 died and one million were made homeless.
Both preacher and building manager have been charged with manslaughter and endangering the lives of other people in the building by ignoring legal restrictions.
The building and management had been under investigation since 2010 for alleged offences over its usage. Prosecutors and police in Bobigny were called in by the Stains mayor, who said that the building had been extended without a permit.
To see the inside of the makeshift place of worship, click through to TF1 (in French)TF1 news
