This particular pine was classified as “dangerous” due to its inclination in an autopsy that was carried out last May
The questions about the causes of the fall of the huge pine still remain unanswered killed the 51-year-old on the main avenue of Heraklion.
From the first moment, the responsible deputy mayors reported that there was no sign that the tree was sick or rotten to be considered unsuitable and uprooted.
However, it seems that this particular pine tree was labeled “dangerous” because of the inclination he had in an autopsy that had been carried out last May.
At least this is what the president of the Tourist Bus Association of Crete, Stavros Magousakis, says in his statements to cretapost.gr.
“On May 17, following the Association’s initiative, we called the relevant agencies and using a tourist bus we did an autopsy on the main streets of Heraklion. Members of the Association, the municipal police, the Traffic and people from the technical service of the municipality of Heraklion participated in the autopsy”, said Mr. Magousakis, who emphasized that 15 “dangerous” spots were found among them and the tree that fell and killed the 51-year-old.
“During the autopsy we found 15 trees which had either taken on a dangerous slope, or were making it difficult for tourist buses to pass due to their length and height. One of these points was the tree that killed our fellow human being”, emphasized Mr. Magousakis.
Immediately after the autopsy, the list of 15 dangerous points was drawn up and sent by e-mail both to the Green Service of the municipality of Heraklion and to the municipal police.
“This e-mail was sent on May 19. Since then absolutely no action has been taken. We only received one phone call from the Green Service for some clarifications and nothing else”, underlined Mr. Magousakis.
Prosecutor intervention
Investigations by the authorities to clarify the causes of the tragic accident are in full progress.
In fact, according to confirmed information from cretapost, there was a public prosecutor’s intervention regarding the incident. The prosecutor of Heraklion ordered a preliminary examination to fully clarify the causes of the tree’s fall and to establish whether responsibilities arise from the relevant bodies.
The head of the Green Service was arrested
Yesterday, the Greek Police summoned the Head of Greens of the municipality of Heraklion to an apology, and proceeded to arrest him on the charge of manslaughter due to his institutional capacity.
According to information from cretapost, the Chief was released by oral order of the Prosecutor since the preliminary investigation process for the investigation and attribution of responsibility that led to the tragic death of the unfortunate Panagiotis Mitrelos continues and is ongoing.
Lambrinos: “We will do everything to identify the causes of the accident”
“We will do everything to identify the causes of the accident,” the mayor of Heraklion, Vassilis Lambrinos, said in a statement regarding the death of 51-year-old Panagiotis who was crushed by a huge pine tree on the main avenue of the city.
Mr. Lambrinos offers his condolences to the family of the 51-year-old while emphasizing that it is “unthinkable that a man should lose his life so unjustly”.
See his statement in detail:
“Today is a very difficult day for Heraklion. The tragic accident on Thursday, August 18, in a central part of the city, causes deep sadness for all of us. It is truly unthinkable that a person should lose his life so unjustly. I assure the citizens that we will do everything in order to precisely identify the causes of the accident, which are already being investigated.
On behalf of the Municipality of Heraklion, I express my sincere condolences to the family and relatives of the victim.”
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