The Judicial Investigation Organism (OIJ) in Costa Rica conducted a raid in the offices of the Costa Rican Train Institute (Incofer) to collect information and evidence regarding the accident where two loaded freight wagons detached and went out of control dragging a vehicle and causing the death of two people and leaving a third victim, a pedestrian, in critical condition.

The police is investigating whether the tragic incident on January 9, was caused by negligence or carelessness.
“This case is being handled as a wrongful incident. This means that we are going to check the procedures to determine if in the chain of events there was an act of carelessness or negligence”, explained Walter Espinoza, director of OIJ.

The two freight wagons were carrying 32 tons in concrete beams, for unknown reasons they separated from the locomotive and sped out of control at some point crashing into a vehicle that was crossing the railroad and dragging it for about 400 meters; a pedestrian was also hit by the wagons and was taken to the hospital where he remains in critical state. Incofer confirmed that work was being down in this train track by a private company hired by them.

“We searched for files and documents that show the relation between the private company and the public institution. We want to get details on the requirements requested to proceed with the hiring of the company and whether the personnel had adequate training and protocols in place”, concluded Espinoza.