The aunt of the seven-year-old girl who survived the devastating road crash in Halkidiki on July 15 arrived in Thessaloniki by air this morning. The accident claimed the lives of the child’s parents and her six-month-old sister, leaving her as the sole survivor of the family.

Speaking to protothema.gr, Moldova’s Honorary Consul in Thessaloniki and lawyer Giorgos Palazis said:

“At 11:20 a.m. today I met the deceased woman’s sister, Anna Katsiour, at the airport. She will assume guardianship of the little girl.”

According to Mr. Palazis, doctors in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, where seven-year-old Patritsia remains intubated, are expected to begin waking her on Sunday morning (July 20).

“Tomorrow the doctors will wake her, and for the first time her aunt will be able to see her,” he said.

At the same time, Mr. Palazis and Moldova’s Consul General from Athens will visit the Directorate of Public Health of the Region of Central Macedonia on Sunday morning to complete the paperwork required for the repatriation of the bodies of the victims: the 35-year-old father, the 28-year-old mother, and their six-month-old baby.

“I was instructed by the embassy to go to the Public Health Directorate to see how the entire process is progressing,” Mr. Palazis said.

The deaths of the three Moldovan family members in the violent collision between their passenger car and a fuel tanker deeply shocked both Greece and Moldova.

According to the report, bank accounts were reportedly opened so that members of the public could donate money to cover the cost of returning the victims’ bodies to Moldova. However, the case has reportedly caused concern in Moldova after allegations emerged that a fraudulent fundraising campaign may have been operating.

The family had been vacationing in Halkidiki when, on Wednesday, July 15, their car collided head-on with a fuel tanker on the Polygyros–Agios Nikolaos provincial road.

The 28-year-old mother and the family’s six-month-old infant died at the scene. The 35-year-old father succumbed to his injuries several hours later at Polygyros Hospital.

Seven-year-old Patritsia, who suffered critical injuries, was initially taken to Polygyros Hospital before being transferred to Papageorgiou Hospital, where she underwent surgery. She was later moved, while still intubated, to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Hippokrateio Hospital, where she remains hospitalized.