The Prosecutor's Office of Albania has issued 17 arrest warrants on charges of murder and abuse of office due to the death of 51 people who died in the 6,4 magnitude earthquake, when dozens of buildings collapsed. Three people have been arrested so far.
The police and the prosecutor's office said that initial investigations showed that "the cause of the loss of life in the collapsed buildings was that the builders, engineers and investors did not adhere to the rules, norms and standards of safe construction", reports Reuters.
The prosecution issued 17 arrest warrants, the police said. Two of the nine people detained on charges of murder are the owners of two hotels in Durrës that collapsed. Four people died on that occasion.
Both hotels were built illegally, and were located on the Adriatic coast, south of Durres.
The third arrested person is the manager of the hotel owned by the police, where a high-ranking police official was killed, reports RTS.
The police also announced that some of the 17 people they are looking for are on the run.
Since the fall of Communism, many Albanians have moved to closer cities, settling on land and buildings that the authorities have little control over.
Many buildings were legalized by previous governments in a bid to get votes, but also to urbanize those areas by introducing sewage systems and roads.
Albania has yet to calculate the cost of building housing for the 14.000 people left homeless.
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