At least four forestry machines were burned on Tuesday night in an arson attack. The incident occurred on the El Carmen estate, located on Route R-330 in a rural area of the municipality of Angol, in the La Araucanía region.
BioBioChile reported that the property is in a remote area that is difficult to access. According to its preliminary information, the affected operation is believed to belong to CMPC. Emol, citing police information, identified the location as the El Carmen estate belonging to Forestal Mininco, a CMPC subsidiary.
Lieutenant Colonel Raúl Quintanilla, deputy prefect for Services at the Malleco Police Prefecture, said personnel arrived at the scene "at around 22:00". There they found "four forestry machines damaged by burning".
Police Public Order Control (COP) units from Angol and Pailahueque attended the scene, supported by armored vehicles. Firefighters from Ercilla and Angol also arrived.
At the scene, police found a banner. The sources did not report its contents or whether any group claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Prosecutor’s Office ordered that the investigation be handled by the police Criminalistics Laboratory (Labocar) and OS9 Department, a unit specializing in organized crime. "The Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered personnel from Labocar and the force’s OS9 Department to attend the scene to conduct forensic examinations of the evidence found there", Quintanilla said.
The case is in its initial stages. So far, no arrests, injuries or case number (RUC, unique case identifier) have been reported. It was also not specified which prosecutor’s office is directing the investigative work.
The next step is for Labocar and OS9 to analyze the evidence collected on the estate. Their findings will guide the Prosecutor’s Office in identifying those responsible.
