Superyacht crew, facing 10-20 years in prison, due back in court today, as police deny wrongdoing

The crew of a superyacht accused of causing a wildfire with fireworks on Greek island Hydra are due to testify in court today, according to Greek media which has also forced the police to issue a statement regarding its handling of the case.

Local media have reported that the tourists onboard the yacht were Kazakh nationals who, after denying any involvement, were allowed to leave the country without being examined as witnesses.

‘Regarding publications referring to the escape of persons related to the case of the fire in Hydra, the headquarters of the Hellenic Police announces that the Hellenic Police never pre-investigatively got involved in the case in question, as well as there was never any information from a pre-investigation or prosecution authority, regarding the existence of an exit ban measure,’ reads a defensive statement from Hellenic Police headquarters.

Essentially, the Greek police are denying reports that they allowed suspects to leave the country, stating they were never instructed to prevent their departure from the country, having not been informed about any travel ban imposed by other authorities.

A Greek prosecutor brought criminal charges against the captain and crew of the chartered yacht last Sunday. The crew is suspected of triggering the fire during a firework display. They were were arrested last Saturday (the fire occurred on Friday) when they docked near Athens. Reuters report that the all-Greek crew members deny the charges against them. The yacht, which was chartered by foreign tourists, was seized by the Greek authorities.

Greek superyacht crew denies wrongdoing in firework case

They have all denied any wrongdoing and are expected to reiterate their stance before an investigating magistrate at the court of Piraeus, a legal source told media, speaking on condition of anonymity. The judge will then decide whether to free them or detain them pending trial. The legal source says there is not enough evidence to link them with the case and that the captain of the vessel had been the first person to alert authorities about the fire, while other yachts were also in the wider area.

There are differing reports of the damage with some citing about 75 acres of the island’s pine forest being destroyed in the blaze. The whole country is currently in the grip of ongoing devastation from fire. From Monday at 18:00 to Tuesday at 18:00, a total of fifty-five agricultural and forest fires were reported across Greece. Of these, forty-six were promptly controlled while firefighting efforts continued for the remaining nine fires.

The accused have had since Sunday to prepare their defence statements.

Acres burned as fireworks are alleged cause

But according to Greece’s Climate Crisis Minister Vassilis Kikilias, the flames burned much more than 75 acres of Hydra’s only pine forest, in the remote area of Bisti, before firefighters contained it, with some reports rising the spectre of 300, 3000 and 300,000 acres.

“The prosecutor has requested that the vessel in question be seized,” says Kikilias. “It remains to be seen from [the crew’s] testimonies what they did, and didn’t, do.

“Six airplanes and two teams of firefighters, who had to be absent from dealing with other fires and services, were required to put it out.”

In a Facebook post, firefighters noted that the blazing pine forest was in a “rough spot” with “no road”, so they deployed a ship to extinguish it from the harbour.

“We are outraged,” Hydra Mayor George Koukoudakis told state TV. “It is something that really saddens me.”

The mayor criticised the yacht passengers and crew of the the Persefoni I – a 53-metre superyacht chartered for €299,000 (£253,000) a week in the high season, to Greek broadcaster ERT. “We are indignant that some people so irresponsibly throw fireworks into a pine forest,” he said.

Commentators on Facebook are asking for retribution. ‘When will they catch the owner of the boat and put him in jail now. He destroyed an entire island. We’ll wait to see how many years they’ll put him in prison,’ asks one. ‘Unbelievable, those tourists, with so much money, are setting our beautiful Greece on fire, let them pay for all expenses! and be a warning, for those, who have no responsibility,’ says another.

All images courtesy of Volunteer Fire Station of Hydra.