Hotel Corona de Aragón fire
Encyclopedia
The "Corona de Aragón" fire killed at least 80 people in the five star
"Corona de Aragón" Hotel in Zaragoza
on 12 July 1979.
According to the official version of events provided at the time by the Spanish government, the fire was started accidentally by an oil fire in the Hotel café.
At the time of the fire the Hotel lodged many high rank military personnel (5 of whom died in the fire), Carmen Polo
, Carmen Franco y Polo
and Cristóbal Martínez Bordiú. Since 1979 many voiced the idea that ETA
was the real culprit of the fire or simply described the fire as an intentional attack.
In the year 2000, relatives of the deceased started to receive benefits as terrorism
victims. According to El Mundo
that is an implicit recognition of ETA authorship. The Civil Guard
website lists a high rank retired Civil Guard member deceased in the fire as a victim of ETA, and states that many injured died after the fire, but were not included in the official account of 80 dead.
The council of state explicitly stated that they do not consider the fire to be an act of terrorism. Napalm
traces were found in the rubble, some witnesses claimed to hear two explosions before the fire and a local newspaper (Heraldo de Aragón) received two phone calls claiming authorship in the name of ETA (m) and the FRAP
.
The AVT
asked for the official recognition of the fire as a terrorist attack.
Star (classification)
Stars are often used as symbols for classification purposes. They are used by reviewers for ranking things such as movies, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. For example, one to five stars is commonly employed to categorize hotels.-Restaurant ratings:...
"Corona de Aragón" Hotel in Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
on 12 July 1979.
According to the official version of events provided at the time by the Spanish government, the fire was started accidentally by an oil fire in the Hotel café.
At the time of the fire the Hotel lodged many high rank military personnel (5 of whom died in the fire), Carmen Polo
Carmen Polo
María del Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdés, 1st Lady of Meirás, Grandee of Spain was the wife of Francisco Franco and a member of the Spanish nobility.-Family:...
, Carmen Franco y Polo
Carmen Franco y Polo
María del Carmen Franco y Polo, 1st Duchess of Franco, Grandee of Spain, Dowager Marquise of Villaverde is the only child of Spain's Caudillo, dictator General Francisco Franco and his wife Carmen Polo y Martínez-Valdès...
and Cristóbal Martínez Bordiú. Since 1979 many voiced the idea that ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
was the real culprit of the fire or simply described the fire as an intentional attack.
In the year 2000, relatives of the deceased started to receive benefits as terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
victims. According to El Mundo
El Mundo (Spain)
El Mundo is the second largest printed and the largest digital daily newspaper in Spain and one of the newspapers of record in that country, with a daily circulation topping 300,000 readers for the printed edition and 24 million unique web visitors per month for the...
that is an implicit recognition of ETA authorship. The Civil Guard
Civil Guard
The Civil Guard , often abbreviated in Hebrew to Mash'az is a volunteer organization of Israeli citizens which assists in daily police work. It is a subdivision of the Israel Police.-Organization:...
website lists a high rank retired Civil Guard member deceased in the fire as a victim of ETA, and states that many injured died after the fire, but were not included in the official account of 80 dead.
The council of state explicitly stated that they do not consider the fire to be an act of terrorism. Napalm
Napalm
Napalm is a thickening/gelling agent generally mixed with gasoline or a similar fuel for use in an incendiary device, primarily as an anti-personnel weapon...
traces were found in the rubble, some witnesses claimed to hear two explosions before the fire and a local newspaper (Heraldo de Aragón) received two phone calls claiming authorship in the name of ETA (m) and the FRAP
Frente Revolucionario Antifascista y Patriótico
The Frente Revolucionario Antifascista y Patriótico , sometimes also called Frente Revolucionario Antifascista y Patriota , better known by its acronym FRAP, was a radical Spanish Marxist-Leninist revolutionary organization that operated in the 1970s.-History:FRAP began operating around 1971 in the...
.
The AVT
Asociación de Víctimas del Terrorismo
The Association of Victims of Terrorism is a Spanish association created in 1981 by victims of terrorist attacks. Its members include those injured in terrorist attacks, and their families, by ETA, GRAPO, the Provisional Irish Republican Army and Al Qaeda. It has a membership of 6,000Its current...
asked for the official recognition of the fire as a terrorist attack.