The captain and first officer of a yacht have been jailed ahead of a trial on charges of arson over a forest fire on the Greek island of Hydra. Eleven other crew members were freed on bail and with restrictions.
This comes after thirteen Greek crew members of the tourist yacht Persefoni IÂ were charged with arson on Sunday, June 23 after fireworks launched from their vessel allegedly started a forest fire on Hydra late on Friday, June 21.
The entire crew of the yacht have denied any wrongdoing.
According to Ekathimerini, Greek prosecutors have also charged eight adult Kazakh passengers aboard the yacht with complicity in arson for the Hydra fire. Two minors among them are not facing charges.
Greek authorities had sought assistance from Kazakhstan, after the yacht’s renters left Greece without being questioned by authorities.
The Piraeus Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a preliminary inquiry into the firefighting and port authorities’ handling of the Hydra fire case. The focus is on investigating any oversights that permitted the yacht’s lessees to depart Greece despite suspicions of their involvement in the blaze.
Source: Ekathimerini.
