Four Crew Members Face Manslaughter Charges After What Happened to Man Trying to Board Ship
“The mind can’t comprehend it,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said of the Tuesday death of a 36-year-old man who drowned after a ferryboat crew barred him from boarding, allegedly pushing him into the water as the captain sailed the ship away.
Three crew members and the captain of the “Blue Horizon” ferry are being charged with homicide, according to the Greek Reporter.
Viral video showed Antonis Kariotis running toward the ramp of the ferry as it prepared to leave the Athens suburb of Piraeus. As Kariotis briskly walks perhaps a third of the way up the ramp, two crew members stop him as a third observes.
The two crew members and Kariotis struggled as he was prevented from boarding and was pushed back to the end of the ramp.
Briefly ashore, Kariotis made another attempt to board, was stopped by one crew member, and, as the ship begins to depart, he apparently was pushed off the ramp into the water.
Reportedly passengers screamed that the man was in the water, and the last crew member to have contact with him is seen looking in the direction of the water as the ferry sails away.
The video — which contains scenes some may find shocking — was posted on X, formerly Twitter, and can be viewed below.
Βίντεο σοκ: Το πλήρωμα έσπρωξε από το Blue Horizon στον θάνατο τον 36χρονο που σκοτώθηκε στο λιμάνι Πειραιά pic.twitter.com/FdzFTliZLg
— kakajason (@kakajason50) September 5, 2023
The crew member who apparently pushed Kariotis into the water was charged with manslaughter with possible malice. The other two crew members on the deck have been charged with complicity in manslaughter.
The captain has been charged with dangerous interference with maritime traffic, a felony.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis posted on Facebook of his “disgust and horror at the unimaginable end” of Kariotis.
“The mind can’t comprehend it, an inconceivable tragedy,” Mitsotakis wrote, saying the “shameful event does not represent the country we want.”
He pledged that all measures would be taken to ensure justice and accountability.
Greek Shipping and Island Policy Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis ordered an investigation of the handling of the incident by the Port Authority of Piraeus.
The ramp should have been up before the ferry’s engines were started, according to sources in the Port Authority, but as Kariotis was entering the ramp, the X video shows turbulence indicating engine operation.
Minister Varvitsiotis said Kariotis had a ticket for the ferry, but for some reason he had left the ship and was then barred from reboarding.
Monday, Varvitsiotis was forced to resign due to backlash stemming from comments he made on the incident that were interpreted by some as expressions of sympathy for the ferry crew, Reuters said.
Varvitsiotis apologized, maintaining his remarks had been misinterpreted.
Protest rallies were held at Blue Horizon’s home port of Iraklio, Crete, where a departure of the ferry was delayed five hours. There also were protests Kariotis’ home of Agios Nikolaos.
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