BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) – Five former municipal officials have been charged with manslaughter in connection with the December 2004 nightclub fire here that claimed 193 lives.

Judge Marcelo Lucini handed down the charges Friday against a city official, Fabiana Fiszbin, and four others who had oversight of the city’s nightclubs at the time of the Dec. 30 fire at the Cromagnon Republic club in downtown Buenos Aires.

The charges came after months of investigation.

Authorities probed reports that a flare launched by someone during an indoor rock concert sparked the fire at the Cromagnon Republic club. Reeling from thick smoke, panicked crowds surged toward the doors, but exits were reportedly locked.

Although the club had a reported capacity of 1,500, authorities said investigators were looking into accounts that 4,000 people were in the club at the time of the fire, considered the worst tragedy here in decades.

Relatives of victims have staged frequent marches to demand justice, saying the city was lax in enforcing public safety codes for nightclubs and dance halls.

After the deaths, the Buenos Aires mayor fired many city inspectors and ordered hundreds of discos and nightclubs to close temporarily amid rigorous inspections.

Authorities earlier filed manslaughter charges against the owner of the nightclub, a businessman named Omar Chaban who has been in police custody since the fire. If convicted, Chaban, like the others charged Friday, could face a prison sentence of eight to 25 years.