Collapse
Alto Río was the only multi-story building that collapsed completely during the 8.8 earthquake that hit central Chile on 27 February 2010. At 3:34 a.m. local time (6:34 a.m UTC), the full structure gave way and trapped most of its residents inside. The official final death toll counted 8 people, while nearly other 70 were rescued alive with injuries. In January 2011, the former residents were allowed to enter and recover some of their personal belongings. Many stated they could take some valued objects and others were able to retrieve their cars.Investigation
The legal case was known as "Alto Río Case" and lasted for over two years, including four months of hearings, thus becoming the longest trial process after the 2000-2005 Chilean Judicial Reform. The defendants were: construction company Socovil's CEO Juan Ignacio Ortigosa, sales manager Felipe Parra, engineers René Petinelli and Pedro Ortigosa, project manager Ricardo Baeza, construction director Mario Valeria and construction managers Héctor Torres and José Luis Paredes. On 31 October 2012, all but engineer Petinelli were acquitted. The ruling caused public outrage, even among governmental authorities and parliament members.References
{{reflist 2010 Chile earthquake Building and structure collapses in South America Building and structure collapses in 2010 Concepción, Chile History of Biobío Region