Four ‘Blue Horizon’ ferry crew members to testify on passenger’s death on Sunday

Four crew members of the ‘Blue Horizon’ fery charged with the death of a passenger will testify at 09:30 on Sunday, the Piraeus prosecutor’s office decided on Saturday.

The four detainees include the captain of the ship and the men accused of pushing Antonis Karyotis, 36, off the ship’s boarding ramp shortly before departing for Crete on Tuesday night, causing his death at the port of Piraeus.

Three of them appeared before the prosecutor to receive a date for testifying, while the fourth (first mate) who is in hospital will testify before a prosecutor there. Defendants’ lawyers said the testimonies, originally scheduled for Saturday, had to be postponed because new evidence was included in the case files.

Piraeus’ prosecutor’s office has also received the results of an internal investigation by the Port Authority of Piraeus, ordered by Shipping and Island Policy Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, that led to the removal of two high-level officials at the port.

In addition, the man’s death led to the resignation of Attica Group CEO Spyros Paschalis, accepted by the ferry-owning group on Thursday.