A drone captured images depicting the massive ecological disaster, with a multitude of dead fish trapped in the Xirias stream, caught in the net placed there for the protection of the Pagasitikos Gulf.
As shown in the aerial footage recorded by gegonota.news, the dead fish stretch for approximately 500 meters, and the net is now struggling to hold them back. Machinery is on site, loading the fish onto large trucks to transport them to the collection area at the port of Volos.
Watch video/photos:
However, each time the “blades” remove a portion of the fish from the stream, the water’s color, stained red from their blood, becomes visible.
The news outlet, which was at the scene at 7:00 AM today, Thursday, August 29, reported that by 10:00 AM, two trucks had been filled with dead fish.
Supreme Court Intervention Regarding the Dead Fish in Volos, Investigating Potential Criminal Responsibilities
It should be noted that an urgent investigation into the dead fish in the Pagasitikos Gulf was ordered by the Supreme Court Prosecutor, Georgia Adelini.
The prosecutor, in a document addressed to the head of the Volos First Instance Prosecutor’s Office, requests an investigation into any potential criminal responsibilities for the situation that has arisen.
She requests an investigation into whether the sluice gate leading to the tunnel, which serves as the only outlet for the water from the entire Larisa-Karla plain to the Pagasitikos Gulf, should have been open and, if so, why. Additionally, the investigation should look into how the operation of this tunnel is generally regulated.
Further investigation is requested to determine who made the decision regarding the irrigation of the aforementioned plain in the manner it was done, and whether the risk to the Pagasitikos Gulf from the continuous flow of water from Karla was considered.
The full order from the Supreme Court Prosecutor
In light of the nightmarish image of tons of dead fish from Lake Karla in the Pagasitikos Gulf, with the obvious severe impacts on the environment, public health, and the economic life of the region, please conduct an urgent preliminary investigation to determine, among other things, whether the sluice gate leading to the tunnel, which serves as the only outlet for the water from the entire Larisa-Karla plain to the Pagasitikos Gulf, should have been open and, if so, why. The investigation should also examine how the operation of this tunnel is regulated.
Further investigation should determine who made the decision regarding the irrigation of the aforementioned plain in the manner it was done, and whether the risk to the Pagasitikos Gulf from the continuous flow of water from Karla was considered.
Additionally, it should be checked whether the sluice gate should have been closed at an earlier time, i.e., as soon as dead fish appeared in the Pagasitikos Gulf or even earlier, given the low water levels in Karla.
Further investigation should also determine whether there is an approved water drainage plan from Lake Karla and who gave the order for the burial of dead fish in the Xirias stream (see also the reference in the press conference of the Regional Governor and the Deputy Regional Governor of Magnesia and the President of the Volos Port Authority on 27-8-2024, attached relevant publication by thessaliatv, regarding the contract for the collection of fish from the Dimini bridge upwards and the Harbor Master’s net in Xirias).
Please keep us informed.
The Supreme Court Prosecutor,
Georgia Evth. Adelini
