The bodies of the seven PAOK supporters who were killed at midday on Tuesday in Romania are being repatriated to Greece today, Thursday, on a special flight, while two of the three injured are also returning to Greece on a separate flight. Meanwhile, as the investigation by the Romanian authorities continues, critical questions remain unanswered, such as the exact causes that led to the accident.

Yesterday, the identification process of all the victims of the fatal road accident was completed. The transfer of the bodies to Greece will be carried out with a C-130 military aircraft.

Two of the injured are in a condition that allows them to travel back to our country. The Minister of Health, Adonis Georgiadis, stated that the other two injured will also return to Greece today as planned and will be received by EKAV (the National Emergency Aid Center).

The third injured person underwent surgery yesterday. The decision was taken by Romanian doctors following a new MRI scan, during which a complication was identified.

In his statement, Mr. Georgiadis stressed that the Ministry of Health remains in constant communication with the Romanian authorities regarding the health condition of the injured and the details of their return.

In any case, all of them have now overcome the immediate danger.

Attention is now turning to the causes of the tragedy.

Closing

Among other things, an answer must be given as to whether the lane assist system—found in newer vehicles—was responsible.

According to the lawyer of the car rental company from Edessa, Antonis Xylourgidis, the van used by the supporters did not have such a system. As he stated, the initial testimony by an injured person regarding a technical failure of this specific system does not hold, as the vehicle was manufactured in 2017, at a time when lane assist was not mandatory equipment for new vehicles in the European Union.

What one of the injured said

One of the injured, speaking to MEGA, said: “I remember everything, I never lost consciousness for a single moment,” adding that in the van “we were like brothers, we are very close friends.”

“I don’t know, I wasn’t driving. I’m fine, since we’re talking. I don’t know things for sure to give you a definite answer. Right now, I am mourning my friends. Today is a day of mourning. I’m not interested in what statements have been made. I can’t know what they have said,” the injured man stated.

“There are three survivors—myself and two others who are in the hospital—and seven dead. I am alone in a room, I don’t know Romanian, I don’t know English well. I happened to hear their voices by chance as I was being taken in a wheelchair for an MRI. I heard them, so at least I know they are alive. They had a stable night in terms of results, and when I asked the doctors today how my friends were, they told me good things. Very likely tomorrow we will all leave by plane. I have some fractures, some broken bones,” he said.

“I’m not sure how it got stuck there. You must have seen the video. There was time to move to the right and nothing would have happened. We rented the van from Edessa; the driver went and picked it up from there and ‘loaded’ all of us from Thessaloniki. There were six of us from Imathia and the rest were from other areas—we all met at a common point where we had arranged to meet. We were like brothers, we are very close friends,” he concluded.