A man has died in the Greek port of Piraeus after crew members on a ferry pushed him off the loading dock into the water. Eyewitnesses recorded the drama on video on Tuesday evening, and Greek media published corresponding recordings on Wednesday. According to this, the man had jumped onto the ramp of the “Blue Horizon” when the ship was just about to leave for the island of Crete to travel with it. Then came the tussle that ended in death.
“I am horrified. There is no doubt that the offense is manslaughter,” wrote the Greek Minister of Merchant Shipping, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, on the x (formerly Twitter) platform.
The videos show how the man jumps onto the loading ramp of the ferry at the last second, even though it is already about to leave. He is apparently initially turned away by the crew members who were on duty at the ramp. Finally, one of the crew members pushed the man so hard that he fell into the harbor basin. The water there was already in turmoil as the ferry’s propellers worked hard to get off. It was initially unclear whether the man injured his head in the fall or drowned in the turbulent water.
The coast guard arrested the captain and three crew members of the ferry, as reported by Greek radio. According to statements from passengers, the captain of the Attica Group ferry left despite the incident and only returned to Piraeus after receiving an order from the coast guard
