The shocking incident at the port of Piraeus has caused widespread revulsion, where the 36-year-old Antonis Karyotis He met a tragic death while attempting to board the passenger-car ferry “Blue Horizon,” which was about to depart.

According to reports, eyewitness accounts, and videos that have been made public, the 36-year-old man was standing on the ship’s gangway when crew members pushed him, causing him to fall into the sea, which resulted in his death.

The four crew members are charged with joint manslaughter

Shortly thereafter, the Piraeus Public Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant for the two crew members—the deck officer and the captain—in connection with the incident.

The four crew members will be brought before the Piraeus Public Prosecutor’s Office on charges of joint manslaughter and violation of relevant articles of the Public Maritime Law Code. According to initial reports, the 36-year-old had a ferry ticket. A crew change took place on the Blue Horizon, and it departed shortly after midnight for its destination.

The ship had initially set sail for Heraklion, but, on the orders of the public prosecutor, it returned to the port of Piraeus so that statements could be taken from passengers and crew

The Management of Attica Group The company that owns the ship issued a statement expressing its shock at the tragic incident that took place at the port of Piraeus, noting that it is cooperating with all relevant authorities to fully investigate the incident.

Varvitsiotis Ordered an Internal Investigation; Outrage Over His Inhumane Statement

The Minister of Maritime Affairs and Island Policy, Miltiadis, ordered a sworn administrative inquiry into the actions of the Piraeus Central Port Authority regarding the handling of the tragic incident.

Sources from the Coast Guard, in response to a question posed by the Athens-Macedonian News Agency (ANA)-APE: Was there a Coast Guard officer at the scene of the tragic incident? Since none appears to be visible in the relevant videos, it was reported that a Coast Guard officer was maintaining order but not in front of the gangway of that particular ship, since the boarding of passengers and vehicles had already been completed.

In response to another question regarding whether the ramp should be open when the ship’s engine is started, it was emphasized that this is not required, and the relevant violation has been confirmed by the centralPort Authority.

Earlier on Wednesday, Mr. Varvitsiotis made an inhumane statement. «There are also those who mourn for those who went to do their jobs and now find themselves accused of murder,» said Mr. Varvitsiotis, equating the victim with the perpetrators of this barbaric act.

«We express our abhorrence at Mr. Varvitsiotis’s statement and consider it self-evident that Mr. Mitsotakis should immediately condemn it,» SYRIZA-PS said in a statement.

Antonis Karyotis: The Victim's Name – Grief and Anger in Crete

The tragic victim is 36-year-old Antonis Karyotis from Agios Nikolaos, Lasithi. According to the local website ekriti, Antonis lived in the workers’ housing complex with his two sisters and had recently lost his mother.

He was a hard-working man, as described by those who knew him, and well-known in the local community.

According to reliable information from Radio Crete, the unfortunate 36-year-old frequently traveled to Piraeus and was known to the crew.

He is a member of a family of ten, and according to port authorities, the 36-year-old had paid for a ticket, which is currently in the possession of the port authorities as part of the preliminary investigation.

*SEE ALSO:

Testimony on Tvxs: «They were pushing him and telling him, “Get out of here”—Where was the Coast Guard?»

«I saw the whole scene from the beginning, right up until a small boat came to pick the man up—not even a coast guard vessel showed up. The man was trying to get on the ship, and they threw him into the sea.» "F. P. says on tvxs, an eyewitness to the tragic incident," during which the 36-year-old man lost his life.

F.P. was on the deck of a neighboring ship bound for Chania.

«The Blue Horizon is headed to Heraklion, but those of us who frequently travel between Piraeus and Crete know that they depart at the same time. I was on deck with two elderly people when I suddenly saw the man trying to board the ship. The crew members were pushing him and telling him, ‘Get out of here.’ He tried to get on four times, and each time they shoved him forcefully without even giving him a chance to speak. I saw the ramp being raised, and that’s when they gave him the final shove. The man reached out to grab the ramp, but he didn’t make it.

»He was swept away by the waves; we lost sight of him. It took a while for the waters to calm down, and we were hoping he’d come out alive, but ten minutes later we saw his body floating. We’re still in shock; we can’t pull ourselves together. Everyone on the ship is talking about it—there’s a lot of turmoil. Human life is worth nothing. Also, they tell us here that no ship is allowed to leave without at least two coast guard officers on board. What were they doing? How could they have let this happen?».

«The ship left as scheduled and then turned back.»

The events that followed the tragic incident A passenger on the “Blue Horizon” described the incident to News 24/7”, which, despite the fact that a man was in the water, set sail and, according to eyewitness accounts, remained at sea for some time before returning to Piraeus.

“The ship departed a quarter of an hour late. We had been underway for about an hour when, at first, three people were called to the reception desk, and then the ship came to a standstill,” the passenger said. “Then they announced that we were turning back by order of the port authority, and we arrived in Piraeus around 10:30 p.m.”.

“It later came to light what had happened; some people saw the man floating in the sea. A passenger told me that someone had pushed him. In general, many people said they had witnessed the incident. Later, the police came inside and asked anyone who had seen anything to come to the front desk.”.

According to numerous accounts, the following announcement was made over the ship’s loudspeakers: “We would like to inform our passengers that the delay in the ship’s departure is due to an incident that occurred at the port of Piraeus. The ship bears no responsibility for the incident.” Aside from the fact that the “Blue Horizon” set sail as scheduled while the 36-year-old man was in the water and remained at sea for some time, it was quick to deny any responsibility for a tragic incident that appears to have been caused by members of its crew.

Chaos reigned on the ship’s deck, with some passengers watching the incident in horror. Shortly afterward, several passengers were discussing the incident, alleging that crew members had pushed the 36-year-old man, while members of the “Blue Horizon” denied this. In fact, according to a report on NEWS 24/7, some expressed their certainty that, upon returning to the port of Piraeus, the ship would depart immediately since “it’s so fully loaded that there’s no way we won’t leave right away.”.

In another account broadcast on ERT, a passenger said: “We were all shouting, ‘What are you doing? What are you doing?” They coldly threw a man into the sea, then turned around and said, ‘We’re leaving.’ They didn’t make a single effort to call for help or throw a life jacket. We just left. The crew said he fell in on his own.”.