In Kythnos, where she was with her own company for a bachelor party, the 30-year-old’s companion and future wife learned the tragic news of his death. She was joined by his sister, and the moments that followed when the news broke were reminiscent of ancient tragedy.

At the same time, the parents of the unfortunate young man were at home in Trikala, making preparations for the wedding scheduled for the next few days. “The village and all of Trikala mourn for his unjust loss. He was the best kid, he was loved by everyone, and he was a hard worker. They were to be married in early June, but now we had the event on Saturday, because the wedding was to take place in the girl’s town, Agrinio. Just before we found out I was at his house and took them for coffee, to his parents, they were making preparations for the wedding… and we were all thunderstruck together when we found out,” a cousin of the 30-year-old described, speaking to SKY.

“What I found out is that he was on a beach that was off limits to swimming. You want the craziness of age? What can I say. He went into the sea, the lifeguard I learned that he was screaming to get out, but the wave was pulling him in. The lifeguard threw the life jacket, he didn’t reach it and didn’t have time to catch himself…” he added.

The mayor of Lefkada, Xenophon Vergini, also spoke about the incident, stating among other things that “it was 7.5 Beaufort, very high waves. Everyone knew this and there was no one else in the sea. His company was also on the beach, but no one else went in.”

Relatives of the 30-year-old’s family, who were preparing for the wedding in a few days, spoke to Star about the tragic situation in which everyone in the family is in. “He dived into the waves and never came out. He and the girl had a relationship for years, since they were students. Lately they were living in Trikala together, it’s a tragic thing. Next Saturday we had a wedding, we’ve fallen from the clouds. He was a young lad, he knew how to swim” they said.