Line 12 Collapse Caused By Construction Deficiencies: FGJCDMX

The Speaker of the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (FGJCDMX), Ulises Lara, stated that the fatal collapse of Line 12 was caused by flaws in the construction and inadequate design of the structure. The Office asserts a lack of maintenance did not factor into the deadly accident, as earlier stated in a report by auditor DNV and implied by experts hired by FGJCDMX cited in an El País report.

The statement comes after El País published this Monday that one of the main causes of the collapse was indeed a lack of maintenance and infrastructure checking, according to FGJCDMX documents the newspaper had access to. According to the Office, however, the information the journalist sourced is incomplete. Therefore, drawing conclusions from the documents made El País’ report a biased one. "As with every research, every possible cause was studied and analyzed to reach a conclusion through that data, which now indicates that maintenance is not considered as the cause of the collapse," Lara added. 

According to Lara, writing reports with the documentation, which he says is “fragmented,” and without context results in subjective and biased research. He added that at the Jun 6, 2022 hearing, his office will carry out the due allegations before the Public Ministry, after adding several more documents and tests to the prosecutors' file, covering issues such as architecture, civil engineering and industrial security, among others. 

Lara clarified that the FGJCDMX does not prosecute any media enterprises and that his office will only examine the Line 12 case in greater detail once further information is made public as to not interfere with the judiciary process and protect the rights of those involved. 

The FGJCDMX’s statements align with Mexico City’s Mayor, Claudia Sheinbaum, who earlier this month accused DNV, the company responsible for the root cause analysis of the Line 12 incident, of delivering a biased and incorrect report. DNV’s report stated that deficient design and a lack of maintenance were the main causes of the collapse. On the back of the report’s publication, Sheinbaum announced she had started a civil lawsuit against the company.

“This third report is deficient, poorly done and has technical problems. It is biased and wrong, that is why we started a termination of the contract process as well as a civil lawsuit against the company… We will release the report presented by the company, proving how it does not even follow its own methodology,” said Sheinbaum. 

Sheinbaum also claims that there is a conflict of interests, arguing that an attorney who previously initiated a lawsuit against president Lopez Obrador was part of DNV’s team. The company said that there is no conflict of interest and they delivered the report following the terms of the contract.