The Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor's Office alleges negligence and omissions by defendants in the fire that killed 10 boys at Ninho do Urubu.

The Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Rio de Janeiro (MP-RJ) alleged that the fire at Ninho do Urubu, which killed 10 young players from Flamengo's youth academy in 2019, was the result of a series of negligent and negligent acts by directors, engineers, and technical staff, who had a duty to guarantee safe living conditions, thus constituting conscious negligence. In October, the agency had already appealed the decision of Judge Tiago Fernandes, of the 36th Criminal Court of the Capital, which acquitted the defendants of the crime. This Monday, the MP-RJ presented the reasons for the appeal, in an appeal attached to the case file.

The appeal is signed by prosecutors from the Specialized Action Group for Sports and Fan Defense (GAEDEST/MP-RJ), the Specialized Action Group for the Defense of Integrity and Repression of Tax Evasion (GAESF/MP-RJ), and the Public Prosecutor's Office attached to the 36th Criminal Court of the Capital.

According to the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor's Office, the lack of a permit, the various notifications from the Public Prosecutor's Office, and the fines issued by the City Hall indicated that the installation was clandestine, illegal, and dangerous.

In the appeal submitted to the 36th Criminal Court, the Public Prosecutor's Office of Rio de Janeiro requests the conviction of Antonio Marcio Mongelli Garotti, Cláudia Pereira Rodrigues, Danilo da Silva Duarte, Edson Colman da Silva, Fábio Hilário da Silva, Marcelo Maia de Sá, and Weslley Gimenes for the crime of aggravated negligent arson.

According to the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor's Office, those responsible for the Ninho do Urubu training center had a duty to provide adequate and regulated accommodations, with fire-retardant materials, proper emergency exits, correct maintenance of air conditioning units, and a sufficient number of monitors to guarantee the safety and well-being of the teenagers.

The appeal filed by the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor's Office pointed out the existence of inconsistencies and contradictions in the ruling and indicates the reasons why the decision should be overturned.

Who are the defendants in the fire at Flamengo's training center?

In Judge Tiago Fernandes de Barros's decision, seven defendants were acquitted, as monitor Marcus Vinícius Medeiros had already received a favorable ruling.

In addition to him, ten other people were indicted by the Public Prosecutor's Office in 2021. However, the charges against Carlos Noval, former director of the base, and engineer Luiz Felipe Pondé were dismissed by the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice.

With that, eight defendants remained, however, the then president of Flamengo at the time of the fire, Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, was removed from the list at the request of the Rio de Janeiro Public Prosecutor's Office itself, with the understanding that the case had expired in relation to the director. The reason is that he is over 70 years old (now 72; at the time of the decision, 71) and could no longer be punished.

Therefore, the other seven defendants were still facing charges of negligent arson (committed ten times) and bodily harm (three times).

In addition to this process, others related to the case are still underway. In July of this year, Flamengo was ordered in the first instance by the Labor Court of Rio de Janeiro to compensate Benedito Ferreira, a former security guard for the club, who participated in the rescue of the victims.

Defendants acquitted by the 36th Criminal Court

Antonio Marcio Mongelli Garotti, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Flamengo (acquitted in 2025)

Claudia Eira Rodrigues, administrative and commercial director of Novo Horizonte Jacarepaguá, NHJ, responsible for the installation of the containers (acquitted in 2025)

Danilo da Silva Duarte, Production Engineer in the Operations Directorate of NHJ (acquitted in 2025)

Fabio Hilario da Silva, electrical engineer at NHJ (acquitted in 2025)

Weslley Gimenes, civil engineer at NHJ (acquitted in 2025)

Edson Colman da Silva, owner of Colman Refrigeração, responsible for installing the air conditioning units at the training center (acquitted in 2025).

Marcelo Maia de Sá, civil engineer and deputy director of Heritage at Flamengo (acquitted in 2025)

Eduardo Bandeira de Mello, president of Flamengo at the time (retired in February due to age)

Marcus Vinícius Medeiros, accommodation monitor (acquitted in 2021)

According to article 250 of the Penal Code, the penalty for causing a fire ranges from three to six years of imprisonment, in addition to a fine. If it results in death, the penalty is increased by one-third. The number of times the crime was committed is also multiplied.