Significant developments have been recorded in the case of the fire that broke out in Hydra at the end of last June, burning 300 acres of forest.
As protothema.gr reports, the captain of the yacht confessed that he was the one who threw the fireworks that caused the fire.
The pine forest caught fire on June 20th. Specifically, the man, who is in custody, allegedly mentioned that he threw the fireworks towards the sea; however, one of them went in a different direction and ended up in the forested area. “We didn’t throw firecrackers but we threw fireworks into the sea and one of them fell into the forest.”
Criminal charges for incitement to arson were filed by the Piraeus Prosecutor’s Office against the eight adults from the group from Kazakhstan who were on board the yacht Persephone. The group, who were allowed to return to Kazakhstan without even being called to testify, consists of oligarchs from the country and their family members.
Additionally, the captain and the first mate of the yacht were temporarily detained, with the agreement of the investigator and the prosecutor, after being arrested by a Fire Service team along with 11 other crew members as being responsible for the fire in the forested area in the Agios Nikolaos region on the island of Hydra, on the evening of Friday, June 21, 2024.
The remaining 11 crew members of the yacht were released on bail, banned from leaving the country, and required to report to the local police station every month.
According to the lawyers, bail of 10,000 euros was imposed on seven crew members, and 20,000 euros on the other four.
For the case, the Hydra Port Authority has collected all information about the boats that were in the sea area through patrols by the Coast Guard, as testimonies from another boat in a nearby bay allegedly reported that fireworks were thrown from a boat in the area where the fire broke out.
It is noted that during his testimony in June, the captain reportedly claimed that no fireworks were fired from the yacht and that during the inspection by the Coast Guard, all nautical flares were intact in their place. He also informed the Fire Service about the fire that had broken out.
It should be noted that the charge is a felony for arson with possible intent, a charge that carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
