The mayor of Kythira, Efstratios Charhalakis, spoke to Lina Drouga on OPEN's midday news program about the maritime tragedy which unfolded on the island on the evening of Wednesday, October 5.
Mr. Charhalakis, after referring to the very difficult equation that triggered the tragic event (bad weather conditions, nighttime, location of the accident), praised everyone involved in the rescue operation.
At the same time, he announced that the municipality is in consultation with the central authorities so that the shipwrecked people can be transferred to an organized structure. «Kythira has very limited accommodation capacity, and this must be understood by everyone,» he noted. «The process of transferring the shipwrecked people from the Piraeus prosecutor's office needs to be expedited because here (in Kythira) the conditions are special. We will also have a problem with feeding them, because many shops have closed. We are not Rhodes, Crete, or Corfu, but a small island,» he added.
He added that he is concerned that a similar incident could occur in Antikythira, where there are no facilities and the majority of the 20 permanent residents are elderly. He did not rule out the possibility of new arrivals in the near future, which is why, as he said, tomorrow, Friday, October 7, a van from the Attica Region is expected to arrive in Kythira «with blankets, thermal clothing, and whatever else is needed.».
