the death of a passenger, thrown into the sea from a ferry, turns into a scandal

Ferries in Greece remained at the dock on Wednesday September 13 due to a strike observed by the seafarers’ union (PNO) after “tragic death” of a passenger pushed into the water by crew members of a boat in the port of Piraeus.

“On the occasion of the terrible events that occurred on board the ship Blue Horizonwhich led to the tragic death of passenger Antonis Karyotis”, the PNO called a 24-hour strike on Wednesday, according to a press release. The union, however, deplores “the all-out accusations against all Greek sailors”who work “overtime” in violation of labor law, which “mathematically leads to endangering the safety of the ships themselves, of the passengers”.

Four sailors indicted

The victim, Antonis Karyotis, 36, had arrived running at the last minute to board a ferry which was preparing to leave the port near Athens last Tuesday towards Crete. But on the ramp, members of the crew tried to prevent him from boarding. One of them pushed him, causing him to fall into the sea. Despite the cries of the passengers, the ferry had left the port and no crew member tried to help this man, who is drowned. A video of the incident was widely relayed, and shocked the whole of Greece.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his “disgust and its horror” facing this “shocking event”. The Minister of Shipping resigned on Monday and four members of the crew, including the captain, were charged with homicide and complicity to murder. The general director of the shipping company Attica group, owner of the Blue Horizonalso resigned.