Brazil authorities grant temporary refuge to employee who released flight

The Federal Police of Corumbá, on the border with Bolivia, forwarded this Monday (Dec. 5) a case for granting a refuge requested by Bolivian Celia Castedo Monasterio, employee of Bolivia's Administration of Airports and Auxiliary Services for Air Navigation (AASANA), at the Santa Cruz de la Sierra airport. She had reported problems on LaMia flight plan on November 28.

The plane was carrying the Chapecoense football team, some journalists, and the flight crew, and crashed near the city of Medellín, Colombia, in the early hours of November 29. Seventy-one people died and six were injured in the accident.

According to the Federal Police, Celia Castedo received a foreigners' identity number that gave her the right to remain in Brazil for a year. Until then, the request for refuge shall be responded by the National Committee for Refugees (CONARE) from the Ministry of Justice.

The Secretariat for International Cooperation from the Prosecutor General's Office has informed that it will submit the request to the competent federal agencies to take the appropriate measures, according to international norms and to the Brazilian law. Celia Castedo was received on Monday (5) at the Prosecutor General's Office in Corumbá.

Alleged negligence

AASANA filed a complaint against Castedo at the Bolivian Public Prosecutor's Office for "non-compliance with duties" and for "violation of transport safety". She was suspended from her duties for alleged negligence and could be sentenced to up to four years in prison.

The LaMia airline carrying the Brazilian team left the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra heading to Medellín. The distance between the two airports was of approximately 3,000 kilometers, which was bigger than the range of the plane model with a full tank of fuel. Nevertheless, the flight plan did not include refueling stops or an alternate airport in case of diversion. Even though such problems were pointed out by Castedo, the plane took off. 

The Bolivian government also launched an investigation into LaMia to find out how the airline obtained the license to operate in the country, as evidence of influence peddling and failure to report came to light. A LaMia manager is alleged to have direct relations with a civil servant from the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC), Bolivia's civil aviation regulatory agency. Officers from DGAC and AASANA have been removed from office until the investigations are concluded.

On Wednesday (7), two Brazilian prosecutors will attend a working meeting with members of the Bolivian and Colombian Public Prosecutor's Office to discuss the investigation on LaMia plane crash.

Translated by Amarílis Anchieta