Christos Lambris, aerial coordinator of the “FLOGA 1” helicopter, described during the investigation how he acted on the day of the fire in Matti.
“That day, I enforced orders from there and beyond, I think I should have done that, that's what I taught my students at school. I believe one of the reasons we are defendants here is because the pilot exhausted his powers in that situation. It's in the top three hardest flights I've ever taken in my life. The Chinook pilot refused to fly. We were blamed because we flew,” Christos Lambris said during the trial for the tragedy in Matti.
However, in his apology to the three-man Mystemenor Court of Athens, the accused made an important revelation, which he said he made at 11:00 p.m., before the infamous press conference in the presence of Alexis Tsipras. Then- about 16 pies in which the leader died. “At 11pm, EMAK showed me 16 bags of dead people! I immediately informed the chief ministersaid Mr. Lambris in his apology.
The defendant referred to the picture he had from the “FLOGA 1” helicopter, which informed his superiors about the fire in Kineta, but close to the Mati and motor oil refineries. “Having heard a lot, I will tell you what I saw,” the accused said, adding that before approaching the refineries “there was an uncontrollable flame, which had to be dealt with immediately and we had to warn people. Ground”, and “there was an explosion in the nearby industrial area and a huge The flame is approaching the compound.”
Mr. In his apology, Lambris said that when the helicopter he was in landed, he went down the road to Matti, where he said he landed at the Naval Club, where there were a lot of people. “I did not abandon my duties. I was neither in the office nor at home. Within 40 minutes, I went from Eleusis to the fire, for which I am now accused. I informed the right people, at the right time, about the picture I had,” the accused concluded, “all the fires I went to.” Even in accidents, no one blames me for being responsible. If I had been responsible, I should have avoided this particular fire. When I arrived, I saw flames 25 meters inside the houses, and this particular incident overtook us in terms of people and mechanism. We were always behind the fire.”
On the same wavelength, the pilot of the “FLOGA 1” helicopter, Christos Drosopoulos, expressed his bitterness that he had been accused, while at one point in his apology, he too broke down in tears. “I was accused of taking off at 17:30 when I had fuel and could have stayed until 17:50. For us to fly, the plane has to have a minimum speed. We had an aerial vehicle and we had to decide that we had to take off and refuel. Due to the weather, which “We don't know if the airports can serve us. The helicopter has to have fuel so that if you try to land twice and fail, you have fuel to continue.” Some people in your court treat a helicopter like a car. I have heard a thousand miles in your court for two years. I was flying 10 to 12 Beaufort Gal. Here, out of conscience and sense of duty, we turned it into an accusation“, emphasized Mr. Dragopoulos.
One of the most discussed faces of this tragedy was Georgios Portosoudis, then YEMPS commander. (Airline Service) that day, despite complaints to the contrary, he said he had not left his post. The defendant, however, admitted that he held a meeting to conduct a voluntary visit to the site at the disputed time within the premises. “A meeting was scheduled with Ms. A…who is responsible for scheduling meetings with volunteers. I asked her to come that day. I got her permission to enter. She said she would bring sister or someone else. Arrived at 6:30. I took her to the office. I served her. I explained about. I gave her a souvenir, a key chain and a t-shirt. I took her down and told her I was coming to the helipad and told her to call me if needed. There were helicopters attached to the engineers, the wind was very strong and I could see the smoke coming from the Bentley. . Nothing surprised me. Then Mrs. A left… I waited for the first helicopter to arrive. The first to arrive was Mr. Anastasopoulos.”He said to me “Commander, two or three must have been burnt”.». “That's not possible,” I tell him. Imagine that the next day we knew the death toll. All these people are our fathers, our mothers, our childrenMr. Portosoudis said.
The accused expressed his bitterness and frustration at what he said was cannibalism towards his face.
For his part, Stephanos Kolokouris, the commander of the 1st EMAK and later the head of the fire department, recounted the history of his activities that day, when he was usually on leave – interrupted by then-operations deputy chief Vassilis. Matthiopoulos. “I decide and say, 'Yes, I'll go up,'” said Mr. Kolokouris said, explaining that on his way back he saw a fire in Kineta. “As soon as I pass the refineries on the way, I see a fire on my left. A large antenna is visible. At about 12:20 I can't see exactly. Two years later I became a defendant and could not get information from a mobile company. Matthiopoulos took me, “Send the air, “I said, 'I'm going to take action immediately,'” the former fire chief said.
Mr. In his apology, Kolokouris said that while Kineta was on fire, Mr. He said he was receiving phone calls from Mathiopoulos and the chairman, and he spoke to the minister on the phone.
“After dark Matthiopoulos called me. He took me and told me to take ten or twelve cars and a group of climbers and go to Neya Makri fire,” said Mr. “Mr. “I am coordinating and quickly executing the order given to me by Matthiopoulos,” explained Mr. Kolokouris.
The then commander of the 1st EMAK finally arrived at Mati around nine in the evening.
The hearing will continue tomorrow.
