On 30th December 2004 a fire broke out in the nightclub Cromañón killing 194 people. It started when a flare that was lit by a fan set fire to the highly flammable interior. As the club went up in flames people tried to escape through the exits, which they discovered were locked.
It later transpired that the club had been filled three times over its capacity, and no fire prevention regulations were in place. The mayor, Aníbal Ibarra, quit as a result of the scandal that ensued.
On 19th August, the trial of those deemed responsible year drew to a close. The owner of the club, Omar Chabán, was sentenced to 18 years while the band that had been playing on the night, ‘Callejeros’, was released without charge.
The Argentina Independent took to the streets of Buenos Aires to see what people thought of the verdict.
Francisco, 27, Teacher, Buenos Aires
I am not sure whether the band was responsible, but the owner of the nightclub certainly was. It seems as though they let people in with flares. And the fact that the exits were locked indicates that there was no fire emergency procedure in place, which there should have been. Ibarra is also to blame because he was responsible for ensuring that the safety standards had been met, so he should have been punished also.
Leonardo Alarcón, 31, Student, Buenos Aires
I don’t know about whether the band should have been sent to prison, but they should have taken some responsibility for what happened. They should have shown a bit more humanity at the trial. Really, everyone in this tragedy was to blame. The situation needs to change but there are a lot of clubs that are in a worse condition than Cromañón, and the fact that so many people died hasn’t meant anything.
Roxana Togliaterro, 37, Bank employee, Buenos Aires
I think it’s a disgrace that Chabán only got 20 years; his part in the tragedy was much greater. The band playing that night also had a lot of responsibility for what happened; there were flares at almost all their gigs. Similarly, Ibarra should have been penalised because it seems as though he gave authorisation for flares to be lit in a club and did not check that the club was safe.
Gonzalo Azcuy, 31, Programmer, Río Negro
Various people should have been penalised, not just Chabán. A lot a people were responsible for what happened, from those who should have checked that the safety regulations of the club had been met, right up to the band themselves, as it was a tradition to light flares at their gigs. As for Ibarra, well, he can’t be expected to be responsible for all those under him, but then again the inspectors work for him and they should be doing their jobs.
Lucas Marmoni, 17, Student, Buenos Aires
The sentence wasn’t right; it’s not fair that Chabán will spend 20 years in prison and then be back on the streets. He should do double the time. I think the band should also have been penalised, and their arrogant attitude annoyed me a lot. It shows a lack of respect for the families of those who died. Ibarra wasn’t directly responsible, but there was corruption, and he was to blame, but the price the politicians pay is a lot less because of the influence they have.
Photos by Thomas Locke Hobbs