The family from Veria is living its own drama that saw one of its members disappear in front of their eyes. 19-year-old Yiannis was on vacation with his mother and two brothers in Pefkohori, Halkidiki, and no one believed what would happen when they decided to spend a few hours at the local amusement park. "I'm going to finish it" said the operator of the machine to the 19-year-old and his 16-year-old brother in which they decided to have fun and what followed was tragic with their position breaking and Giannis being thrown and dying instantly.
Today, in Veria, relatives and friends will say their last goodbye to the 19-year-old who died at midnight on Monday, August 19. His funeral will take place at the Holy Church of the Ascension of Papagos in Veria, at 11:00, while the burial will take place at the Diavatos Cemeteries. His family asked that in lieu of wreaths, anyone attending make a donation to the parish church. "It is the family's desire that a donation be made to the parish that everyone wishes in memory of the beloved of all of us," says a relative of the 19-year-old in a post.
Rusty amusement park toys
According to Open video, the irons that supported the seats in the amusement park were rotten and rusted.
Of the four quad seats in the game that spread death and panic, only one was reportedly operational.
The managers of the amusement park in Halkidiki temporarily free but facing felony charges
The two arrested for the death of the 19-year-old in an amusement park in Pefkohori, Halkidiki, were released after their statement to the public prosecutor.
They are the 21-year-old operator of the game and the 58-year-old owner of the business. The public prosecutor ordered a preliminary investigation in order to complete the case file and initiate criminal proceedings.
The death of the 19-year-old from Veria, according to the forensic report, was instantaneous.
We will go to the end, says the 19-year-old's family
In the meantime, the 19-year-old's family declares, through their lawyer, that they will "go to the end" of the case and will exhaust all legal measures and actions that are necessary to render justice.
"This is a tragic event which unfortunately tarnishes not only the owners and managers of the business, but also the local authorities at the same time. What we must do in the memory of the child and in support of the prosecution for the family itself, is to exhaust all legal measures and actions that are necessary to render justice. And this will happen, we will get to the end" emphasized, for his part, the lawyer of the 19-year-old's family, Nikolaos Petridis.
"Beyond the obvious responsibilities of the company, which according to the support of the accusation are of a criminal nature and in essence it is a case of intentional homicide with possible malice, we will request the assignment of responsibilities also against OTA administrative agents who, not only were negligent but with the faults both in the management of the issue and - of course the incident - and today in the way they deal with it, essentially show that they do not know and that they do not have the responsibility and seriousness to deal with such issues, as a result of which we arrive, unfortunately, in this tragic incident," added the family's lawyer.
"Obviously, I am referring to the municipal authority of the Municipality of Kassandra and not only to it. If responsibilities, actions or omissions of third parties arise. I repeat that the order we have from the family is to get to the end and that responsibilities are assigned to whoever belongs to him and to whatever extent."
Mr. Petridis emphasized that these are very serious responsibilities which elevate the charges to a criminal nature.
Mayor Kassandras: The people in charge of the business never announced their operation
At the same time, the mayor of Kassandra, Anastasia Chalkia, issued a statement, in which she expressed her condolences to the family and at the same time emphasized, among other things, that the managers of the business never disclosed their operation, as they were required by law, nor filed a relevant file.
In particular, he emphasizes:
"For the tragic event that happened at Luna-Park in Pefkohori, Halkidiki, and cost the life of nineteen-year-old Yiannis, I, as Mayor, as well as the Municipal Council express our deep sorrow and our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones. I know that no statement can fill the unfilled void left by the sudden and tragic loss of a young child. Today is a day of mourning and pain for all of us.
With reference to the tragic event that occurred at the amusement park in Pefkohori, Halkidiki, within the territorial competence of our Municipality, it is pointed out that the operation of the business in question was seasonal and took place in a rented private space. The managers of the business never disclosed their operation, as they were required by law, nor did they file a relevant file, a fact that was confirmed by the competent auditing bodies of the AT. Kassandra around the middle of July.
The Independent Department for Control of Common Areas and Shop Licenses of the Municipality, within the legal deadlines, initiated the administrative sanctions related to the procedure of imposing a fine and the managers of the business were summoned in writing, to report their opinions, as stipulated by law. After that, as Mayor, I immediately sealed the business in question, according to document no. 1020/10469/10 dated 20-8-2024 of A.T. Kassandreas.
With the given recognition of the existing bureaucracy for taking immediate and drastic measures, in combination with the absence of the Municipal Police and the cumbersome administrative process created by the existing legislative and regulatory framework, the Municipality of Kassandra assures that, within the framework of its capabilities and responsibilities took and will take all necessary measures to prevent and suppress similar criminal behavior.
Finally, we assure that we are at the disposal of every Authority to provide the necessary explanations for the tragic event".
I will go all the way, shouted the operator – What the 16-year-old brother of the unfortunate 19-year-old said
Dramatic are the statements of the brother of the unfortunate 19-year-old who spoke to photothema.gr and describes the nightmarish moments he lived with his brother at the amusement park. Mother and brother saw the victim thrown into the air and killed before their eyes.
"My brother and I got on top of the game. Just before we started, the one who was going to drive it, changed our seats and we heard him say to us: "I'm going to go all the way, I'm going to go hard...". At first it was going steadily, but then it started going really fast. I was sitting in the same seat with my brother and suddenly I see the seat come off.
I look at my brother and say: "John, the seat is coming off". He was looking into my eyes, he didn't have time to say a word and I see my brother disappearing. He was thrown into the air by the high speed the game was going and killed. My mother and my other brother were downstairs and they were screaming.
They saw my brother get killed. The one driving the toy managed to escape while the toy was still in motion and I was holding on to an iron to save myself. Others stopped the machine, do you understand? I would kill myself if I didn't find the strength to hold on. I think I'm seeing a nightmare, I can't recover..." the victim's brother told protothema.gr while crying.
The president of the Pefkohori community, Giorgos Tsirkoudis, said speaking to protothema.gr that he does not know who is responsible for the amusement park. "We are shocked by the incident. The amusement park has been established at the site for over twenty years. Never before had we heard of an ugly incident like the one that has bent us. I know the owner, he is a family man, I don't know what happened and we ended up in this tragedy...".
A preliminary investigation is being conducted by the AT of Kassandreas. An expert opinion will be carried out to ascertain the exact causes of the accident, while the scene remains cordoned off by the police.
The 19-year-old's grandmother is also shocked
The grandmother of the 19-year-old victim also speaks to protothema.gr and is shocking:
"It's unfair what happened to our family, it's unfair. Our child was lost unjustly. My son, the father of the child until he arrived in Halkidiki from Athens driving all night, he was crying on the steering wheel he could not believe that his child died.
His brother who was sitting together in the same seat, the child tried to hold his brother by the blouse but the blouse was torn and he fell.
What traumas will this child have, how much psychological support will he need to overcome the shock. In a few days, our Yannis would go to aviation school, they had prepared a uniform for him, but fate crushed us all" says the victim's grandmother to protothema.gr.
Source: protothema.gr