The young man was on vacation with his mother and two siblings when he got on a ride with rotating chairs, unaware of the impending disaster.
According to the forensic examination, the 19-year-old died instantly from the fall. His funeral is scheduled for tomorrow at 11:00 AM in Veria, according to thesstoday.gr.
The plastic chair he was sitting on detached from the ride, causing him to fall violently, according to his shocked brother, who was seated next to him and witnessed the tragedy unfold. The 19-year-old sustained fatal injuries to his neck and head.
The luna park owner was immediately arrested and is expected to testify before a prosecutor. The ride operator, who allegedly told the kids, “I’m going to take it to the max,” fled the scene and was sought by authorities under the emergency arrest law. However, he eventually turned himself in at the Kilkis Police Department and is being transferred to Kassandra.
A preliminary investigation is being conducted by the Kassandra Police Department, and an expert evaluation will be carried out to determine the exact cause of the accident. The area remains cordoned off by police.
Luna Park Operating Illegally
In the meantime, Kassandra’s mayor, Anastasia Chalkia, revealed that the luna park was operating without a license from the municipality. Speaking to protothema.gr after the tragic accident, she emphasized that the luna park had illegally opened this year.
“This amusement park had opened illegally this year. Until last year, it had made notifications, but this year, it did not, and that’s why the municipality had initiated sanction procedures. I am shocked by the death of the young man; it was a horrific death, and I want to express my deepest condolences to his family,” she added.
Speaking to Proto Programma 91.6 and 105.8, Chalkia stated that the luna park must have its equipment certified and licensed by the Ministry of Development. However, in this case, the notification was not made, and the municipality had already begun imposing financial penalties.
“The Ministry of Development is responsible for checking the certifications. That’s where the equipment gets its licenses from. How is the municipality supposed to know if the equipment is up to standard? They get ISO, HACCP certifications; there are certain procedures. The municipality simply checks if the notification has been made. This specific notification was not made, so we were in the process of imposing financial penalties.
There’s a Joint Ministerial Decision from 2022 that outlines the exact responsibilities of each municipality,” she explained. Once the fines are imposed, Chalkia added, the business owner is then called to explain, followed by the sealing of the premises.
“The issue is that these need to be certified. What mechanism does the municipality need to check if these machines were certified? The Ministry of Development checks if the Joint Ministerial Decision’s requirements are met,” she reiterated. Chalkia noted that in her municipality, there have been three consecutive incidents in recent days, including the death of a young girl in a summer camp pool, a brawl at a beachside bar, and now the death of the 19-year-old.
In conclusion, Chalkia emphasized, “I want to speak not as a mayor but as a mother. A family has been destroyed; they lost their child today, and I want to express my deepest sympathy from the bottom of my heart. They lost their child. The real tragedy is that we should focus on prevention, not just punishment.”
