The technician who sent the Dana alert assures that the former counselor Pradas asked him to be expected | News from the Valencian Community

An emergency technician from the Generalitat who participated in the sending of the mass alert To mobile phones to notify the population of the magnitude of the Dana – which on October 29 left 228 dead in the province of Valencia – assures that the former council of Justice and Interior Salome Pradas indicated « that he would not send anything until she gave him the approval. » This is indicated by sources present in the declaration as a witness of this professional on Tuesday before the Court of Instruction number 3 of Catarroja (Valencia), which criminally investigates the flood.

« The counselor was entering and leaving (…) Pradas insisted that no text was sent without its approval, » said the witness, who added that a second text was decided for the province of Valencia. And he has acknowledged that he spent an hour since it was agreed to send the message until it was sent. He has also admitted that « there was no one » dedicated to the control of the ravines « even despite (risk of) collapse of the Forata dam. »

The mass message reached the mobile 20.11 hours, when there were already Dozens of deceased peoples, missing and trapped in low floors and garages. Pradas came to admit that he did not know the existence of the system Es-alert —That allows the authorities to send direct messages massively to the phones of a certain coverage – until the last hour of the day of the Dana.

The technician has indicated that Dana’s day joined the Generalitat Emergency Center at 2:30 p.m. and finished his day at 2.00. And that, after landing at his job, he received the call from the mayors of Utiel and Requena, Ricardo Gabaldón and Rocío Cortés, respectively. « They told me that they could not take care of the situation with their resources, » said this security professional, who has been working in the emergency area since 2018.

The coach has assured that Suarez asked him to convene the Cecopi, the autonomous emergency organ, whose Dana Day meeting started at 5:00 p.m. And that « there were problems upon receiving calls. » Also that at the Cecopi meeting there was the order to “prepare a notification of the Foraata dam file”. « I think it was from 5:00 p.m.

The number two of Pradas, Emilio Argüeso, explained in court during his statement as charged last month that the breakage of the Forata dam could have caused 20,000 dead.

The ill -fated message about the Forata dam

Faced with the risk of the Forata dam would go to « scenario 3 », « which implied an imminent collapse », the coach began to write a message from Es Alert. He gave his position to the Head of Analysis, Juan Ramón Cuevas, so that “with his credentials” he would enter (on the computer) to write the message to inform the population. « I do not remember the literal text, » explained the expert to specify that the letter about Foraata « was finally ruled out ».

After discarding this possibility, he received the order to « establish position 2 throughout the province. » « Suarez, entered, communicated the order and joined the Cecopi again. » « From there we are told to prepare a is alert for the entire province, » he added.

« The then counselor says that nothing is sent without her being approved. The app of the messages requires double validation. » On the content of the text, the expert has assured: « The deputy director said that the message in Spanish and English was discarded and sent in Spanish and Valencian. »