Manslaughter Charges Against Summer Camp Owner

The owner of a summer holiday camp where the teenage heiress of a family considered one of the wealthiest and most powerful in Spain died in a canoeing accident has been arrested on manslaughter charges.

The body of Ana Reyzabal, 14, was only recovered some time after the accident where it was trapped under a rock following the accident.

She was one of several children taking part in the summer camp’s activities in the municipality of Comillas, in the northern Spanish region of Cantabria when tragedy struck.

The teenager, who loved tennis, camping and rafting, was spending the first 15 days of July at Layos Camp with other youngsters.

According to the local newspaper El Mundo, 20 teenagers and four instructors went canoeing on the River Cares when Ana’s canoe overturned with another girl accompanying her.

The other girl managed to surface, but Ana did not appear above the water.

An instructor had to stay in the area as the others went for help, as there was no phone coverage.

According to reports, the emergency services arrived on the scene around 50 minutes later and found the victim’s body trapped between some rocks in a hard-to-reach spot of the river.

In one of the videos from the police it can be seen how they investigate the company, taking photos and checking every corner of the adventure camp.

In a press statement from the Spanish police obtained by NewsFlash, it is said that the investigations have revealed a series of irregular situations surrounding the event.

Firstly, the company did not have an authorization for carrying out an activity in that area of the river, despite advertising the opposite on their website.

Also specific training, aid, accident prevention protocols and evacuation procedures are also necessary in these risky situations, but were apparently not in place here.

There was also the circumstance of not complying with the ratio of qualified guides per client that is considered convenient for the activity.

The expert report concludes that this was a key factor in the delay in carrying out the search for the girl after falling into the river.

During the investigations, it was also possible to determine that the company lacked alternative means of communication such as signaling stations and support vehicles.

This delayed the ability of the instructors to raise the alarm in the event of difficulties.

For this reason the owner of the company, identified only by the initials JDMC, aged 48, who is a resident of the region, has been arrested on manslaughter charges.

The victim’s’ family is considered one of the wealthiest and most powerful in Spain and the death of the 14-year-old heiress on 3rd July was only the latest tragedy to befall them.

The local newspaper Nius said that Ana is the great-granddaughter of Julian Reyzabal Delgado whose family is considered one of the wealthiest and most powerful in Spain.

The family owned the Windsor Tower in Madrid and also reportedly own 30 cinemas, nightclubs and a cosmetics firm.

The patriarch of the family, Julian Reyzabal Delgado, launched the family’s real estate and cinema empire after leaving his modest life as a farmer.