MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – A Norwegian company has found six “deficiencies” in the construction process that contributed to the collapse of the Mexico City metro last month, according to contents of a leaked report published by a leading Mexican newspaper on Wednesday.
El Financiero newspaper said the preliminary report into the crash that killed 26 people, compiled by Norwegian external auditor DNV, cites structural failure associated with at least “six deficiencies in the construction process”.
The Mexico City government declined to confirm the El Financiero story, saying results of the DNV study would be released later on Wednesday during a news conference set for 12:00 (17:00 GMT)
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has vowed to hold to account those responsible for the crash and officials have said the probe into the accident would encompass everything from design and construction of the metro’s Line 12, the materials used, cost overruns and maintenance.
El Financiero said the 58-page report cited welding of bolts, including unfinished or poorly executed welds, as well as deformation of the beams, among the deficiencies.
The metro collapse has piled political pressure on Lopez Obrador’s close allies, including Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, who was the capital city’s mayor at the time of the construction of the line.
Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, Latin America’s wealthiest man and Lopez Obrador ally, has also faced pressure over the crash as his construction arm Grupo Carso was involved in building the section that collapsed.
(Reporting by Diego Ore; Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel)
