ATHENS: Greek ferries stayed at the quayside Wednesday as a sailors’ union held a strike following the death of a passenger pushed into the water by crew members of a ferry.
A video that went viral on social media showed the passenger running onto the ferry loading ramp, which was still down, and crew members stopping him and pushing him back three times.
The man, 36-year-old Antonis Karyotis, fell into the sea, and despite passengers screaming that he was in the water, the ferry left as scheduled.
The ferry’s captain and three crew members face homicide charges over the incident, which happened as it left the port of Piraeus.
A statement from the PNO sailors union said the strike was called to mark “the terrible events that happened on board the ‘Blue Horizon’, which led to the tragic death of passenger Antonis Karyotis.”
The union nevertheless denounced “accusations being made against all Greek sailors.”
Their members, they argued, were being forced to work overtime over and above the legal limit, which inevitably led to safety on the ships being compromised, and thus that of the passenger too.
Emotions are still running high after the death, which happened last week.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, in a message posted on Facebook, expressed his “disgust and horror” over the death of Karyotis.
The merchant marine minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis resigned Monday following outrage over comments he made that appeared to express sympathy for the crew members accused of pushing him into the water.
Spyros Paschalis, chief executive of the Attica group, which owns the ferry, has also resigned.
Greek ferries strike following passenger death
https://arab.news/5d8wb
Greek ferries strike following passenger death
- Emotions still running high after the death, which happened last week
Russia’s Putin, in New Year address, voices confidence in victory in Ukraine
MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual televised New Year’s address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, saying he believed in them and in victory in a war that he has framed as part of an existential struggle with the West.
US President Donald Trump is trying to broker an end to the nearly four-year-old conflict, Europe’s bloodiest conflagration since World War Two, with both sides’ negotiating stances still far apart.
Dressed in a black coat, Putin — whose forces are advancing slowly but steadily in Ukraine — spoke about Russia’s destiny and the unity of its people, which he said guaranteed the sovereignty and security of the “Fatherland.”
He paid tribute in particular to his forces fighting in Ukraine, calling them heroes.
“Millions of people across Russia — I assure you — are with you on this New Year’s Eve,” said Putin.
“They are thinking of you, empathizing with you, hoping for you. I wish all our soldiers and commanders a happy coming New Year! We believe in you and our Victory!“
His speech, which was first broadcast in Russia’s far east, came as Russia released video footage of what it said was a downed drone, presenting it as evidence that Ukraine had tried this week to attack a presidential residence. Kyiv has dismissed Russia’s allegation as a lie designed to derail peace talks.
In another video released on Wednesday, Russia’s top general told troops to keep carving out buffer zones in Ukraine’s Sumy and Kharkiv regions and said Moscow’s forces had advanced faster in December than in any other month in 2025.
Reuters could not verify his battlefield assertion.
