A Greek island ferry captain and three crew members faced murder charges on Wednesday over the death of a delayed passenger who was pushed overboard by crew members as he tried to make his way to the outgoing ship in the country’s main port of Piraeus.
The incident, which was caught on video and shared on social media, sparked outrage across the maritime nation. The image showed the passenger running towards the Blue Horizon ferry’s loading ramp, which was still in place on the pier, as the ship had given up its moorings and was about to depart. He attempted to overtake two crew members on the ramp who pulled him over and roughed him up on the sidewalk.
When the man climbed back onto the pier, he was stopped and pushed away by a member of the crew as the ferry was leaving, and the man disappeared into the growing gap between the ship and the pier.
The crew appeared to do nothing to help him, and the ferry continued sailing towards Crete before being told to return to Piraeus.
Thanasis Stavrakis / AP
The Coast Guard said the man was pulled unconscious from the port waters and later declared dead. An autopsy is being conducted to determine the exact cause of death.
in Social media sharingMiltiadis Varvitsiotis, Greece’s Minister of Maritime Affairs, expressed his “shock, horror and sadness” on Wednesday at the incident.
“The conduct of the four detained crew members is criminally and morally reprehensible,” he wrote. “It is a grave insult to all the sailors of the Greek ships. There is no doubt that the crime is murder.”
He said the man had a ticket, had boarded the ship a short time earlier, got off for unclear reasons and then tried to get back on board. Varvitsiotis also said He ordered an investigation into how the port police handled the “tragic incident”.
“The Piraeus Port Authority is taking all necessary measures to clarify the issue and determine responsibility,” he wrote in a letter. Separate post on social media.
The Attica Group, which owns Blue Horizon, issued a brief statement saying it was “affected by the tragic incident” and would cooperate with the authorities.
The ferry captain, his first mate and two other crew members are due to appear before the public prosecutor in Piraeus for formal charges later Wednesday.
Piraeus is Greece’s largest port and the main gateway for the millions of travelers who visit the country’s Aegean and Crete islands each year.
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