The crew of a luxury yacht must now appear in court after the fire in the only pine forest on the Greek island of Hydra. They are said to have started the fire with flares. The accused have denied the accusations.
The crew of the luxury boat that is said to have started a forest fire on Hydra with flares has been charged. The 13 people will have to appear in court from Wednesday, as the television station ERT reported. The fireworks burned down the only pine forest on the Greek island. At a hearing in Piraeus, the crew members denied the accusations.
According to the report, the public prosecutor’s office did not file charges against the yacht’s 17 passengers, who are from Kazakhstan. In Greece, the penalties for arson were recently increased. Those responsible now face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to 200,000 euros.
Anger among the islanders
The fireworks fired from the yacht had set fire to the forest area of the island near Athens. The fire had broken out in a location that was difficult to access and away from any roads.
The incident provoked angry reactions on the island. Mayor Giorgos Koukoudakis expressed his “outrage at the irresponsibility of certain people” and announced that the island administration would sue those responsible.
Escape after incident
The crew tried to put out the fire themselves on Friday evening, Greek media reported. When this apparently failed, they reportedly called the fire brigade and left. According to the reports, passing boats observed the incident and also reported it to the authorities.
For weeks, the authorities in Greece have been warning people not to handle fire and sparks, not to grill outdoors or even to use tools to weld or grind. The risk of forest fires remained high in several regions of central Greece throughout the weekend, the Greek civil protection agency said. However, a fire service spokesman said most of the fires had been brought under control.