CNN —Sixteen officials in Libya have been detained amid an investigation into the deadly collapse of two dams after heavy rain in the coastal city Derna earlier this month, according to a statement by the Libyan attorney general’s office.
“The investigating authority initiates a criminal case against sixteen officials responsible for managing the country’s dam facilities,” the attorney general’s statement reads.
The Derna dam is 75 meters (246 feet) high with a storage capacity of 18 million cubic meters (4.76 billion gallons).
The second dam, Mansour, is 45 meters (148 feet) high with a capacity of 1.5 million cubic meters (396 million gallons).
“The current situation in the Wadi Derna reservoir requires officials to take immediate measures to carry out periodic maintenance of existing dams,” the paper recommended last year.
Persons:
Ahmed Madroud, Al Jazeera
Organizations:
CNN, World Health Organization, Libya’s Sebha University, University
Locations:
Libya, Derna, Yugoslav, Mansour, Wadi