A judge of the Racari Court in Dambovita County ruled on Monday to begin the trial on the merits in the case in which the two owners of the Crevedia LPG station, Ionut Doldurea and Cosmin Stanga, have been indicted in connection with the explosions of August 26, 2023, which left six people dead and 54 injured.

The case was sent to court by the Prosecutor General's Office in June 2024 and received its first ruling in the preliminary chamber stage after two years, despite the Criminal Procedure Code providing a recommended time limit of 60 days.

The decision to start the trial on the merits is not final and may be appealed by the defendants.

The judge also decided to maintain the asset seizure imposed by prosecutors during the investigation, noting that compensation claims filed by a very large number of civil parties amount to EUR 53.333 million and RON 516,000.

At the same time, the judge upheld a request by the defendants and referred to the Constitutional Court challenges regarding the constitutionality of provisions under Article 281 (3) and (4) of the Criminal Procedure Code, as amended by Law No. 201/2023, as well as Article 477 (3) of the same code.

The two owners of the Crevedia LPG station, Ionut Doldurea and Cosmin Stanga, were indicted by the Prosecutor General's Office on charges of negligent destruction resulting in a disaster, failure to take legally required occupational health and safety measures, and failure to comply with occupational health and safety regulations.

Their company, Flagas SRL, which owns the Crevedia LPG station, was also sent to trial.

Ionut Doldurea is the son of former Caracal mayor Ion Doldurea, who resigned office in September.

The tragedy occurred on August 26, 2023, during a gas transfer operation between two tanker trucks. As a result of the explosions, six people died, 54 were injured, eight houses were completely destroyed and 80 others were partially damaged.

Prosecutors say the fire and explosions were caused by gas leaks from tanker trucks or storage tanks located on the company's premises, combined with the presence of an ignition source.

No LPG-related operations, including storage or transfer activities, were legally permitted at the Crevedia site because the location lacked the required permits and authorisations from the competent authorities.

Investigators further allege that Ionut Doldurea and Cosmin Stanga promoted within Flagas SRL an operating policy based on repeated violations of occupational health and safety regulations, as well as rules governing the supply, transport, transfer and storage of LPG fuel at the unauthorised facility in Crevedia commune.

According to prosecutors, the company authorised and encouraged the unloading of LPG from ADR-certified road tankers into non-ADR-certified storage tanks and the use of an improvised, unauthorised mobile pump, despite the absence of approved operating procedures for LPG loading and unloading activities.

All of these activities were carried out at an unauthorised site located in a densely populated area. Prosecutors say this created the conditions that led, on August 26, 2023, between 6:48 p.m. and 9:46 p.m., to an initial explosion followed by a fire after a sealing defect developed in one of the transfer hoses or another component. The resulting release of LPG formed gas-air clouds at various concentrations, including within the explosive range, which, in combination with an effective ignition source, led to the fire and a subsequent series of eight additional vapour-cloud explosions.

During the investigation, prosecutors froze assets including 63 properties belonging to Flagas SRL, eight properties owned by the two defendants, as well as bank accounts and shareholdings in other companies. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Eusebi Manolache; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)