  In 129 Xe+ nat Sn central collisions from 8 to 25 MeV/A, the three-fragment
exit channel occurs with a significant cross section. We show that these
fragments arise from two successive binary splittings of a heavy composite
system. The sequence of fragment production is determined. Strong Coulomb
proximity effects are observed in the three-fragment final state. A comparison
with Coulomb trajec-tory calculations shows that the time scale between the
consecutive break-ups decreases with increasing bombarding energy, becoming
quasi-simultaneous above excitation energy E * = 4.0$\pm$0.5 MeV/A. This
transition from sequential to simultaneous break-up was interpreted as the
signature of the onset of multifragmentation for the three-fragment exit
channel in this system.
