A second tragic incident was reported in the northern Greece region of Halkidiki on Monday evening with the death of a 19-year-old who fell from an amusement park ride.
According to MEGA TV, the incident at the outdoor amusement park set up at the coastal Pefkohori resort, in the Kassadra peninsula of Halkidiki prefecture.
The young man was on vacation with his family in the area and his mother and siblings were present during the fatal mishap.
He was immediately transported to a nearby health center but he succumed to his injuries early Tuesday morning.
Equipment failure to blame
A report by ERT TV noted that the 19-year-old and his brother were on a ride called ‘Crazy Dance’ when his seat broke away, causing both brothers to fall.
The surviving sibling told ERT that the ride started off slowly but then started moving much faster. He felt his seat coming lose and told his brother, and at some point, he felt the entire back of the seat come off.
“In a split second I found myself lying on my back, my brother no longer next to me, and I am holding onto a metal bar. My brother was thrown from the seat. He wasn’t thrown far but with force, and he hit his head. I held on. All of this happened in front of my other brother and mother.”
Arrest Made, Public Official’s ‘Shameful’ Statement
The 58-year old owner of the business was arrested at the scene, while the 21-year-old operator of the ride turned himself in at a police precinct in the city of Kilkis on Tuesday morning. The latter reportedly told the surviving brother before the ride started that “I will make it go really fast.”
Meanwhile, media and the public are reacting to what have been characterized as ‘shameful’ statements made by the president of the Pefkohori community in regards to the accident.
Speaking to ERT, President Giorgos Tsirkoudis said, “As they say, I can’t be sure, the boy fell from his seat, fell to the ground, unfortunately, this accident happened. This amusement park has been here for over 20 years; I wasn’t the president then. Nothing passes through me.”
Continuing to deflect any intimations of culpability for the accident, Tsirkoudis continued, “I know they do their maintenance. It’s not my job to check the amusement park. I’ve never dealt with this issue; I have no opinion. I’ve been in office for three years. I don’t know exactly what happened and how it happened. I don’t know which service is responsible, those who issue the licenses. I don’t know. I’m hearing from you that I should have been conducting inspections”.
Media reports on Tuesday morning have the mobile amusement park’s operating license for the specific site as expired.
Drowning, shooting on Halkidiki
Last week public opinion in Greece was shocked when it was revealed that an 8-year-old girl had tragically drown in a pool on Tuesday, August 13, at one of Halkidiki’s most popular overnight summer camps for children. Authorities are still investigating the tragic incident.
Meanwhile, a violent altercation at a bar on Halkidiki took place on Sunday, August 18, which led to one man’s serious shooting injury and the hospitalization of three persons. The 55-year-old owner of the bar was briefly arrested and the beach bar has been closed. Another five men, all Bulgarian nationals, remain in remand.
