The authorities in Greece are in the dark regarding the circumstances and causes of the accident that claimed the lives of five Greeks in Libya.
Questions have been raised by the traffic accident in Libya where five Greeks who arrived in the country participating in a humanitarian mission in the areas affected by the floods lost their lives.
Characteristic is the fact that the government representative, Pavlos Marinakis, stated that “we still cannot say with certainty what happened”, while GEETHA also noted in its briefing that for the time being the circumstances of the accident are unclear.
“The first information is about a terrible car accident. Beyond that, we cannot say for sure,” Mr. Marinakis told SKAI, who added: “What happened, what didn’t happen, I can’t even tell you before the relevant investigation is done, before the relevant official answers are given from the Ministry of Defence. What I can tell you is that there will be an immediate investigation into the causes and of course the driver. What happened, what is the responsibility that these people did not return to our country after the humanitarian aid they came for”.
Why didn’t the GETHA immediately announce the dead people of the traffic accident
We remind you that sources from the General Staff provided clarifications regarding the initial announcement by the General Staff, which referred to injuries only and not to the deaths of members of the Greek humanitarian mission in Libya.
According to the sources, the initial information was based on the information provided by the Libyan authorities to the competent authorities of Greece, in which it was categorically stated that there were no casualties among the members of the Greek humanitarian aid mission.
The same sources emphasize that it is understandable that in the particular conditions prevailing on the field there was no other way of cross-referencing the relevant information, other than the information from the Libyan authorities through the diplomatic channel, given that there was no mobile phone network in the area and the satellites telephones that the Greek mission had with it were destroyed in the fire that followed the collision of the vehicles.
They also add that later, the Libyan authorities, through the Ministry of Health, without prior information from the Greek side, made a statement that included members of the Greek mission among the victims.
The sources of the UNHRC conclude that considering the extremely sensitive issue of informing the families of the victims, the UNHRC should also have waited after the latest update from Libya and before issuing a corrective statement, for their relatives to be notified in advance by the military authorities and to don’t get the sad news from the media. As soon as the relevant information was completed, the new announcement was issued.
The bodies were repatriated
The bodies of the three members of the Armed Forces and the two interpreters who lost their lives were repatriated earlier with a C-27 aircraft. The President of the European School of Benghazi, Giorgos Sagianos, spoke to SKAI and noted that two of the five dead Greeks of the humanitarian mission in Libya are children of the president of the Greek community in Benghazi.
Three days of mourning in the Armed Forces
Earlier, the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, declared three days of mourning for the Armed Forces.
“I express my deepest sorrow for the death of the three members of the Armed Forces, who lost their lives in the line of duty, participating in the Greek humanitarian aid mission in Libya. The loss of their lives in an accident, during the practical demonstration of solidarity to our fellow human beings who are being tested, together with members of missions from other states, causes immense sadness to the large family of the Armed Forces, as well as to the entire Greek people”, noted Mr. Dendias .
“I also express my deepest sorrow for the loss of life of the two citizens who were part of the same mission. Our thoughts at this time are with the families of the victims of the accident, to whom we extend our most sincere condolences, as well as to the injured, to whom we wish a speedy recovery,” he added.
Finally, the Minister of Defense states: “By my decision, three days of mourning are declared for the Armed Forces for the death of their officers, during the humanitarian aid mission in Libya.”
Condolences from Mitsotakis
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his condolences to the families of the five victims of the traffic accident in a post on Facebook.
“It is doubly painful to mourn lives lost saving lives. And at the same time, to worry about the health of our people, who wanted to ease the anxiety of other people. Members of the Armed Forces who traveled to Libya to help after the natural disaster that hurt our own country,” he noted and continued:
“In a tragic accident we mourn, unfortunately, 5 members of the Greek mission. A drama that happened while they were performing the noble duty of humanitarianism and international solidarity. The whole country mourns. My thoughts are with the families of the victims and our 10 injured. The State will stand by their side.”
Source: ethnos.gr
