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"Blue Horizon": The man had apparently jumped on the ramp as the ship was just leaving
Photo: Thanassis Stavrakis / AP
In the Greek port of Piraeus, a man has died after crew members of a ferry pushed him from the loading dock into the water. Eyewitnesses videotaped the drama on Tuesday evening, and Greek media published footage on Wednesday. According to this, the man had jumped onto the ramp of the "Blue Horizon" when the ship was about to leave for the island of Crete to travel along. Then came the scramble with the fatal end.
"I'm horrified. There is no doubt that the offence is manslaughter," Greek Merchant Shipping Minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis wrote on Platform X (formerly Twitter).
Coast Guard detained captain and crew members
The videos show the man jumping onto the loading dock of the ferry at the last second, even though it is already about to leave. He is apparently initially rejected by the crew members who were on duty at the ramp. Eventually, one of the crew members pushed the man so hard that he fell into the harbor basin. There, the water was already choppy because the ferry's propellers were working hard to cast off. It remained unclear whether the man injured his head in the fall or drowned in the churning water.
The coast guard arrested the captain and three crew members of the ferry, Greek radio reported. According to passenger statements, the captain of the ferry of the shipping company Attica Group had departed despite the incident and had only returned to Piraeus after an order from the coast guard.
SWE/DPA