http://www.boston.com/dailynews/015/world/French_prosecutor_says_deadly_:.shtml

French prosecutor says deadly explosion was an accident, not a terrorist attack

By Associated Press, 1/15/2002 14:16

TOULOUSE, France (AP) A prosecutor said Tuesday that he is now convinced a deadly blast at a chemical plant in southwest France was an accident, not a bomb attack.

The Sept. 21 explosion at the AZF chemical fertilizer factory in Toulouse killed 30 people, injured hundreds and damaged scores of buildings, including schools, hospitals and homes.

''The question of a bomb or a criminal act is no longer at issue,'' Toulouse prosecutor Michel Breard said at a judicial ceremony. ''Everything points to the theory of an accident.''

In the weeks after the explosion, French Environment Minister Yves Cochet said it could have been a terrorist attack, and news reports alleged that a man found dead at the site was known to police for possible Islamic fundamentalist sympathies.

Breard said the factory did not meet safety standards and the hangar where the blast took place was ''generally in bad condition.''

The hangar contained 300 tons of ammonium nitrate, which can be used in fertilizer or explosives.

The explosion is still under investigation.

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2002