The story of the parents of two children who drowned in the Arachtho River, who, in their grief, decided to go on organ donation, is a living example of the priceless value of love and solidarity.

The director of the Children’s ICU in Rio, Andreas Eliades, where the two children were treated, said: “Together in the river, together their hearts started, together they were hospitalized. Together they spread their wings to save other children, because hearts just don’t have colour.”

“The parents of these two children demonstrate an incredible degree of generosity and self-sacrifice in the face of the maelstrom of pain they are in right now. We are shocked by this development. 14-year-old Spyros, who jumped into the river without hesitation to save his friend, losing his life himself, will give life to other people in need. He is a hero, just as the 12-year-old boy is a hero, whose parents also took the brave decision to donate their child’s organs,” Mr. Eliades told protothema.gr.

The tragic incident in Arachthos has shocked the local community of Arta. Two children, full of life and dreams, were lost in the frozen river.

The parents of the children, who are brain dead while in a desperate situation, chose to donate their organs, thus offering other people the chance to continue living. It’s a move that has touched the friends and family of the two unfortunate children.

Since the morning, at the site where the students drowned, friends have been leaving flowers and lighting candles near the riverbank where they breathed their last breath. Also devastated is the migrant who dived into the water to get the children out, who arrived at the spot unable to believe that the two friends had finally lost the battle for life. “You will be memored forever, gone like heroes,” reads one of the notes left by friends of the unfortunate children at the scene of the tragedy.

The chronicle of the tragedy at Arakhos

It all happened at noon on Wednesday (11/6) when a group of four children wentto the Arachthos River to swim.

According to reports, the 12-year-old was the first to dive in and the 14-year-old, seeing that his friend was drowning, decided to help. The 14-year-old in an attempt to save his friend hit his head, causing both children to perish in the water.

The other two children ran for help and at the scene Goga Levian rushed to the scene, who without a second thought dove into the Arakhtho River to pull the children out. The two minors stayed underwater for 20 minutes and it took another 30 minutes or so for CARPA to start at the hospital in Arta, where doctors put up a titanic struggle to bring them back to life.

They were then transferred to the hospital ofRio where they were treated in the ICU in a critical condition. About two days after the tragic accident and despite the tremendous efforts of doctors the children are brain dead.

The place where the children were swimming: