A court in Santander has expanded its investigation into the tragic collapse of a footbridge in the El Bocal area, which killed six young people. A key focus of the proceedings is the emergency services' response to a warning about the structure's poor technical condition, which was received via the 112 emergency number one day before the disaster. The judge has called a local police officer and staff from the emergency call center to be investigated.
Officer under investigation
An officer from the Policía Local has been placed under investigation for allegedly ignoring a warning about the footbridge's condition.
Ignored 112 alarm
Emergency services received a report of the danger exactly 24 hours before the structure collapsed in El Bocal.
Six fatalities
The disaster led to the deaths of six young people using the coastal walking path.
An intensive judicial proceeding is underway in Santander concerning the tragic collapse of a footbridge in the El Bocal area. This disaster led to the deaths of six young people, and the current stage of the investigation focuses on determining why no preventive action was taken despite a prior warning. The judge presiding over the case has decided to call an officer from the Policía Local in Santander to be investigated (investigada). The officer is being examined for allegedly ignoring an alarm signal regarding the state of the infrastructure.
A key piece of evidence in the case is a report that was received via the 112 number exactly one day before the disaster. Investigators are currently analyzing the flow of information between the emergency number operator and the police. It has been confirmed that the subject of the examination is "la gestión de un aviso recibido a través del 112 sobre el estado de la pasarela un día antes del colapso". The court has also summoned staff from the 112 center who received the report to testify, in order to reconstruct the sequence of events and decisions made before the tragedy. 6 — fatal victims of the disaster 24 — hours separated the alarm from the tragedy
Parallel to the interrogations, the judiciary has requested detailed technical documentation from the authorities. This request specifically concerns "documentación específica sobre la senda costera de Santander", meaning materials related to the senda costera. The investigation aims to determine who was responsible for maintaining this section of the walking route and whether the technical condition of the structure had been previously monitored. Analysis of the response to the threat: Situation before the disaster: → ; Actions of the services: → ; Legal consequence: →
The tragedy in El Bocal shook the local community of Santander, sparking a debate over the safety of tourist infrastructure. Initially, the investigation focused on the technical causes of the structure's failure, but the discovery of a call recording to the 112 number changed the direction of the prosecutor's and court's actions. The current priority is to determine the administrative and service responsibility for the lack of response to a specific report of danger. The proceeding remains in the evidence-gathering phase, and the "investigada" status assigned to the police officer means there are grounds to place her at the center of the investigation, although this does not yet prejudge her guilt. The court seeks to clarify whether the death of six people was the result of an unfortunate accident or a potentially avoidable negligence on the part of the law enforcement agencies.