New details and documents about what happened on Friday night at Bisti Bay in Hydra are being released by Protothema.

Watch video and photos a few hours after the fire

The evidence contradicts claims by the “Persephone” crew, who insist they were unaware of how the fire started on Friday night, burning 300 acres of bush and woodland on the island.

Statements taken during the preliminary investigation reveal that crew members not only attempted to erase traces of the arson by removing incriminating evidence from the beach but also hurriedly left the scene when they saw a tender boat arriving from the adjacent cove. The crew of this other boat had been mobilized after witnessing a flash followed by a fire on the beach.

The testimonies

The incident began on Friday night in the southern part of Hydra, where two yachts were anchored. The “Persephone,” with a crew of 13 and 17 Kazakhstani passengers, had taken shelter in Bisti Bay due to 6 Beaufort winds in the area, to ensure the comfort of the passengers.

In a nearby cove, another boat was anchored, initially without visual contact with the “Persephone.” At approximately 22:45, the occupants of this second boat saw a flash, followed by a fire erupting in the adjacent bay. Bisti Cove is an isolated area, only accessible by boat.

Realizing the severity of the situation, the occupants of the second boat lowered their tender and headed towards Bisti Cove. Upon arrival, they discovered that the “Persephone’s” support vessel had already reached the beach, and the crew members were attempting to collect the remnants of what had caused the fire, most likely fireworks.

Instead of remaining on site and cooperating with the approaching auxiliary boat, the “Persephone’s” tender immediately returned to the yacht upon noticing the other boat. The yacht, carrying the Kazakhstani passengers, quickly departed for the Vouliagmeni marina.

It should be noted that the “Persephone” yacht had not informed the coastguard of its intention to anchor at Bisti Bay, as required by maritime law.

Photos of the fire on Friday night

The arrival in Vouliagmeni

The next destination for the “Persephone”, which departed from Bisti Bay despite the bad weather conditions on Friday night, was the marina of Vouliagmeni.

There, the 17 Kazakhstani tourists disembarked from the tourist boat and headed directly to the airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” from where they departed at 11 am on Saturday.

After the Kazakhs disembarked, the “Persephone” departed again and docked at the marina of Agios Kosmas.

For now it remains unclear whether the departure of the Kazakstanis was because the “Persephone”‘s charter was expiring or if they left on time given the arson in Hydra.

At the same time, it is concerning that the competent prosecutor was informed with a significant delay, at 1 o’clock on Saturday.

The documents

Despite the Persephone captain’s claims to a colleague that “I was in the cabin, I saw the fire, we haven’t done anything,” the evidence is incriminating to his crew.

First, the photo published by protothema.gr on Friday night, a few hours after the fire broke out, shows that the “Persephone” was the only vessel in close proximity to the spot where the fire had broken out.

Second, marinetraffic has documented that the Persephone was the only vessel in Bisti Bay at the time the fire broke out.

Thirdly, the fact that the site of the fire is not accessible by road and can only be reached by boat

Fourth, the conduct of the members of the crew who, according to the testimony, when they saw the tender approaching them from the yacht in an adjacent cove, immediately returned to the yacht and raised anchor despite the adverse weather conditions that had forced them to “catch” in the Bisti area.

The prosecution

The captain of the Persephone and 12 crew members were charged with a felony charge of arson with a possible prosecution by the Piraeus prosecutor.

After being referred to an investigator, the 13 on the tourist boat requested and received a deadline to apologize on Wednesday.