Mazón’s former advisor investigated within the dana: “We hope that Vilaplana tells the whole truth” | News from the Valencian Community | EUROtoday

Salomé Pradas, the previous counselor of the Generalitat Valenciana investigated within the dana case, trusts that the instruction of the decide of Catarroja (Valencia) Nuria Ruiz Tobarra will reveal the entire reality concerning the flood that left 229 useless in 2024. The surroundings of this former chief explains to EL PAÍS that they hope that the testimonies of the witnesses who will quickly parade by the courtroom – greater than 350- assist reconstruct what occurred throughout the biggest pure catastrophe of the century.

Among them is Maribel Vilaplana, the journalist who had lunch with the president Carlos Mazón on the El Ventorro restaurant for nearly 4 hours (3:00 p.m.-6:45 p.m.) whereas a part of the province of Valencia was flooded. The informant will seem as a witness subsequent Monday. “We hope that Vilaplana tells the whole truth, that he tells everything he knows, like any other witness. We also do not know today what happened at that meal, not a meal… And we do not believe in conspiracy theories, not even those that interest us,” signifies the surroundings of this former chief, who was dismissed by the favored baron 4 weeks after the tragedy.

Pradas’s entourage maintains that the previous Minister of Justice and Interior of the Generalitat is the primary concerned about figuring out what occurred throughout the fateful day. “We want the whole truth to be known. We have said it from the beginning. From there, we are not going to go away. We have chosen the path of telling the truth, despite the fact that many say that it is a lie. It is not like that,” the identical sources level out.

The former head of the portfolio answerable for Emergencies – based on her closest circle – denies having made any adjustments to her story. When she declared final April as below investigation – a situation that didn’t require her to inform the reality – she assured the teacher that she was not directing something, offloaded her accountability to the technicians and exonerated Mazón. Some photos hidden by the Generalitat from the decide for eleven months confirmed the previous counselor distributing talking hours on the Cecopi. From this physique of the Generalitat that coordinated the tragedy, the mass message Es Alert was despatched to cell phones, which slipped into the telephones when the vast majority of the lacking had died. “He has not lied at any time. It is one thing to lie and another to have gaps. They have tried to provide everything to the court, even though they have given us a very bad 20-page transcript,” explains the Pradas entourage.

The identical sources point out that the previous president reported to the management of the Generalitat the important thing selections within the administration of the tragedy. “The Presidency was informed, we ratified ourselves.” In courtroom, the previous counselor reported that she spoke with the Presidency of the Consell, with the regional secretary of the Presidency, with Mazón’s cupboard and with himself. president”. He additionally instructed the decide that the delay in sending Es Alert was as a consequence of the truth that the telephone message system was provisional. “It was in testing and there were many concurrent circumstances that had to be assessed. We did not have all the information. We did not even know that the Poyo ravine had overflowed. No one was waiting for the measure to be approved,” he instructed the teacher.

Calls from El Ventorro

Mazón communicated 5 instances with Pradas from El Ventorro. And, after leaving the restaurant, at 6:45 p.m., he known as the previous counselor once more at 7:43 p.m. and at 8:10 p.m., one minute earlier than the Es Alert was despatched. “[Pradas] He didn’t call to talk to Mazón about what was going to be done over the weekend. He didn’t ask [al jefe del Consell] Absolutely nothing, he only transferred information. Decisions had been made at Cecopi. [La exconsejera] He didn’t wait for anyone to give the go-ahead. If he does it, we might still be waiting [en alusión al envío del mensaje masivo a móviles]”.

Pradas’s entourage affirms that Mazón was not missed within the machine that coordinated the disaster in L’Eliana (Valencia), the place the baron disembarked at 8:28 p.m., after the alert was despatched (20:11). “Let’s be fair, it wouldn’t have changed anything. [la llegada anticipada del president]. Pradas was in place since before it had the institutional direction of the plan, in the morning,” the identical sources conclude.

The former counselor even defends that she assumed duties that didn’t correspond to her within the emergency coordination middle, the place she went after hydrological alerts had been declared for the Magro River and the Poyo ravine, whose overflowing unleashed the disaster in municipalities resembling Paiporta or Catarroja, the place the flood took 56 and 25 lives, respectively.

“Pradas was the sole command starting at level 2. It was decreed starting at 3:00 p.m. for the Utiel and Requena area; at 6:45 p.m. for the Ribera Alta and Ribera Baja regions and, starting at 7:00 p.m., for the entire province,” these sources point out.

The former president considers that, because of the latest judicial statements of witnesses, resembling that of Inmaculada Piles, the pinnacle of the Generalitat 112 phone switchboard, who revealed that the central authorities proposed sending the alert to cell phones at 6:35 p.m., it’s proven that “the central Executive was also in the equation.”

The Catarroja Justice of the Peace, nevertheless, has dismantled in dozens of instances the so-called data blackout concept, which means that, if the Generalitat acted late on October 29, it was as a result of organizations such because the Júcar Hydrographic Confederation (Chj) or the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), which depend upon the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, these days warned of the magnitude of the storm. In totally different orders endorsed by the Provincial Court of Valencia, he has refused to cost these answerable for these organizations or the Government delegate within the Valencian Community, the socialist Pilar Bernabé.

“The anniversary was horrible”

Pradas’s entourage recounts “the sadness” that the previous counselor suffered throughout the anniversary of the disaster, which was commemorated this Wednesday with a secular state funeral in reminiscence of the 237 deceased and through which Mazón was insulted by the victims shouting “murderer!”, “get out!” or “scoundrel.” “Pradas spent a horrible day, thinking about the victims. They deserve the truth. We hope justice is done. We want the protocols to be known and what each administration was able to do. The victims will always have Salomé by their side,” they level out.

The decide of Catarroja charged Pradas final March with the alleged crimes of accidents and reckless murder, that are punishable by as much as 4 and three years in jail, respectively. Along together with her, the previous director of Emergencies, Emilio Argüeso, who was her quantity two throughout the flood, can also be being investigated. The teacher has proposed that Mazón voluntarily declare himself below investigation on three events. The chief has refused. When measured, the president He can solely be cited as a defendant by the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) after the decide’s reasoned presentation.

In October, the decide refused to file the case towards Pradas, estimating that there have been “overwhelming indications of negligent conduct.” “That illusory incapability to make selections of the counselor accountable for the emergency, within the worst flood because the flood of ’57 [catástrofe que causó 81 muertos en Valencia]below which the protection was sheltered […] has been proven to be completely unsure,” the teacher alleged to justify her determination.