Greece is shocked after a passenger died after being pushed by ferry staff

Letter from Athens

His name is Antonis Kariotis. He was 36. His name is now known throughout Greece. On September 5, the young man arrived late at the port of Phrae to pick up his boat Blue-horizon, whose destination is the island of Crete. As he climbs the ramp to climb, he is pushed back by one of the crew, loses his balance and falls into the water. The ship continues its journey without stopping. A few minutes later, Antonis Kariotis drowned. His death was pronounced a long time later when his body was taken to a hospital in Nicaea, near Piraeus.

Many travelers have captured the shocking scene and posted it on social media. The video quickly went viral and deeply outraged Greek public opinion. In these videos, the screams of passengers can be seen as they ask the crew to stop the boats, but they don’t listen.

Center-right daily step Kathimerini, consulting the logbook of the Piraeus Coast Guard, the captain of the boat reported to the center at 9:13pm that a person had fallen into the sea, without specifying what happened to the crew members. Six minutes later, help arrived on site, but it was already too late … At 9:40 p.m., the Piraeus Port Police ordered the boat to stop its course. The Coast Guard gathered testimony from at least three passengers who described the course of events, and at 10 p.m., the boat returned to Phrae. The captain and three other crew members were arrested by the police. They were produced in court and charged with murder and accessory to murder.

“Unthinkable Tragedy”

The affair, which stirred the emotions of a large section of Greeks, sparked spontaneous demonstrations in several ports. Blue-horizon : “Don’t get used to death”, can we specifically study symptoms? On September 13, the Seamen’s Union also called for a twenty-four-hour strike “Tragic Death” By Antonis Cariotis. However, they remembered it “Full charges against all Greek sailors” It leads to difficult working conditions, including senseless and systematic overtime “Danger to passengers”.

Merchant Marine Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis announced his resignation on Monday 11 September after an outcry over his comments following the tragedy. On Open TV channel, he pointed it out“There are those who cry for the victim, there are those who cry for wages, for a decent living and now there are those who are accused of murder.”, referring to the arrested group members. while asking ” sorry” For these misleading comments, Miltiades Varvitsiotis emphasized in his resignation: “In no way am I questioning the responsibilities of the team and the carrier. » The general manager of the shipping company Attica Group and the owner of the yacht resigned.

You should read 46.42% of this article. The rest is reserved for subscribers.