Owner of land where Julen died declares bankruptcy amid "avalanche of claims"

The defence of David Serrano, the only person under investigation over the death of two-year-old Julen Roselló who fell down a borehole on his land in Totalán in January, has entered into an arrangement with creditors.

This is because he is "technically insolvent", his defence team told news agency Efe. "With the avalanche of claims [against Serrano], not now nor ever is he going to be able to pay back a debt which could rise to 1.5 million euros."

This figure is made up of civil responsibility claims, including 885,310 euros to cover the cost of the rescue mission, as well as administrative fines after he was found to be lacking the necessary permits to carry out prospecting work on the site.

Meanwhile, Serrano maintains his innocence. His lawyers maintain that the charge of negligent homicide "doesn't stand up" because he never could have forseen what would happen and he had warned Julen's parents "several times".