Serious indications that fire was the result of criminal action, says Citizen Protection Minister
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on Thursday that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has given instructions for this week’s deadly fires to be fully investigated.”From the first moment, the prime minister gave the order to investigate quickly and methodically all of the evidence and leave nothing unanswered,” he told journalists at a press conference. At the same press conference, Citizen Protection Minister Nikos Toskas said that there are serious indications that the fires were the result of a criminal action. “There is serious evidence pointing to a criminal action,” said Toskas.
Earlier, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Christos Spirtzis told the Athens Macedonian News Agency that the Region of Attica is not to blame for the fire at Mati because from the first moment on Monday Rena Dourou was at the coordination center of the fire brigade.
“Neither did the state mechanism delay, nor did it make mistakes, because on that day it had put all of its weight behind the large fire at Kineta, while at the same time there were also fires at Kalamo and Neo Voutza and the rest of Greece. If there were mistakes in the orders given, then this will be determined,” said Spirtzis, adding that the mayors in these areas operated within their responsibilities.
On a day where there were so many strong winds, the question is why did so many fires start in such a short time period, according to the minister.
Our critics are the same people who complained when we hired 2,500 people to protect the forests, he highlighted, adding “imagine if these hirings had not taken place”
Spirtzis visited on Thursday the areas in eastern Attica hit by the fires and described as fatal the anarchic construction and the zoning violations in Mati.
Source: ANA-MPA