The 13 crew members of the Persephone tourist vessel Persephone arrested for the fire that was caused in a wooded area, in the Bisti area in Hydra when fireworks were fired from inside the boat.

The 13 people were arrested Saturday by officers from the Arson Crimes Division of the Fire Department, which took over the investigation into the case after the irresponsible actions of the occupants of the yacht on Friday night.

At the same time, the seizure of the “Persephone” which was chartered by 17 people originating from Kazakhstan is ongoing.

The Persephone

How authorities arrived at the tourist boat

The fire broke out Friday night when occupants on a yacht threw fireworks, resulting in a fire in area that took hours of efforts by the fire department to extinguish.

As protothema.gr wrote when the occupants of the boat realised what they had done, they tried to put out the fire and, when they failed, they were content to alert the Fire Department and left.

See photos from the scene:

A captain of a ship alongside, however, heard the noise and saw a flash, as he testified to coastguards at the Hydra Port Authority with the investigation showing that the only vessel in the area indicated by the captain was the “Persephone”

Thus, after the fire started, the Port Authority of Hydra, in consultation with the Fire Service, recorded on Friday night (21/6) which boats were in the harbour. During this process, the skipper, who did not go voluntarily to the authorities, informed about the noise and the glow.

In Vouliagmeni the “Persephone”

The tourist boat docked at noon on Saturday in the marina of Vouliagmeni and immediately after the docking the investigative department of the Fire Department was taken over. The Fire Department initially asked for the rental contract of the boat and this to clarify whether the owner knew about the fireworks or not.

It was then investigated whether there was a license for the fireworks, who they were purchased from and when, whether there was a license to throw them (which is ruled out given the special conditions prevailing in the country these days), etc.

Based on the statements given, the prosecutor will decide whether to prosecute the 13 arrested and on what charges. It should be noted that the investigating officers are from the Fire Department and not the Coast Guard.

Shortly after 3 p.m., at the request of the Fire Department, men from the Coast Guard boarded the boat to check the life-saving equipment, especially the flares that every boat is required by law to have in its equipment. The check apparently concerns whether flares were used and how many on Friday night.