A horrific traffic accident occurred today at noon in the Timisoara area, Romania, when a van carrying ten PAOK fans collided head-on with a truck, resulting in the deaths of seven of them and the injury of the other three.
The fans were traveling from Greece to Lyon to watch their team's Europa League match next Thursday.
The accident occurred on a provincial road, without a median, during an overtaking attempt by the van driver, resulting in the vehicle colliding head-on with the truck. Seven young men, aged up to 30, lost their lives at the scene, while three other passengers were seriously injured.
As stated by the Minister of Health, Adonis Georgiadis, the injured are conscious and are currently being treated at the University Hospital of Timisoara.
"Ludojinfo", a Romanian media outlet, later provided more details about the condition of the three injured PAOK fans, with statements from the hospital director, Mihai Balan.
"The three patients were transferred to the Timisoara County Emergency Clinical Hospital, Casa Austria. One of them has multiple spinal fractures, rib fractures and a clavicle fracture. The second has a spinal fracture and scalp trauma, while the third was alert and cooperative," he said.
The passengers in the van were mainly from Alexandria Imathia, Katerini and from western districts of Thessaloniki, such as Neapoli and Eptalofos.
The route through Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, used by PAOK fans for European trips, is often chosen to avoid long waits at the borders of non-EU countries, such as North Macedonia, Bosnia and Serbia.
The political and sports worlds expressed their condolences for the tragedy that struck the families of the victims. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims and to the PAOK family, while wishing "the injured a speedy recovery."
On behalf of the Romanian government, Prime Minister Ilie Bologian expressed his condolences to the families of the seven young people from Greece who lost their lives in the tragic car accident.
Ivan Savvidis, owner of PAOK FC, stated in shock: "I mourn with the families and millions of our compatriots," while adding that a PAOK FC team, which was in contact with the government from the very beginning, is traveling to Timisoara to offer any assistance needed to the injured and the families of the victims.
The tragic event has shocked Greek society and the world of sports, with the pain being incalculable for the families who lost their loved ones so unjustly and prematurely.
The scenes in Thessaloniki were moving, with a crowd of PAOK fans gathering outside the Toumba stadium to leave a few flowers or a lit candle in memory of the seven dead. The team's coach, Razvan Lucescu, led a delegation of players and club executives, who wanted to honor the seven unfortunate friends of the team with a symbolic gesture.
Source: protothema.gr
