For crimes of murder, serial bodily injury and reckless explosion, he was arrested yesterday 52 year old contractor as well as 42 years old, electrician who were responsible for the conversion of the heating system (from fuel oil to geothermal) in Serra school. An 11-year-old schoolboy was mortally wounded the day before yesterday when, shortly after carrying out technical work, an explosion occurred in the burner, as a result of which the iron door flew off tens of meters and hit the student in the school yard.

The question arises how the two men ended up at the school to do work during its opening hours, which was not allowed by the contract they signed with the municipality, according to the mayor. Alexander Chrysafi.

Mayor Serra assigns the duties to the principal, who denies them.

OUR the mayor is talking to “K” directly accuses the school principal of negligence, as “the municipality has never been asked for permission to carry out technical work during school hours.” Mr. Chrysafis stresses that “the contractor cannot enter the school unless he is allowed by the director,” and adds that “the same contractor tried to enter the 12th school for work, but was not allowed to enter.” Even if “technicians entered the school without permission, someone had to warn the municipality about their presence,” the mayor concludes. The project is expected to be handed over by the end of December, and, according to the mayor, the municipality will check the technical details in order to receive it. “There is a team from the municipality that takes over the technical projects and has the necessary knowledge,” he explains, emphasizing that the technical service of his municipality has the know-how.

For his part, school director Nikolaos Tsiotzios emphasizes that the technical specialists of the project “came and left as they pleased, without reporting.” He was not at school when the explosion happened – shortly after 2 p.m. – he finished his shift and returned home. The school worked full-time and the students were in the yard at that time. The day before yesterday, two men said they were making final adjustments to get the burner to work with the geothermal system, but apparently they forgot to disconnect the burner from the oil, causing the explosion. The circumstances that caused the accident will be investigated, as a criminal case has been initiated and transferred to the prosecutor’s office.

The problem of who controls what in schools is chronic and intractable. “The director, who does much more, must notify the municipality in writing. But how quickly will the municipality respond? And who checks that safety regulations are followed, such as if the emergency exit is open?” Dimitris Koutsomolis underlines the “K”., Secretary of the Association of Parents and Guardians of Egaleo. “There is no personnel management system, so no one keeps track of what is done and what is not done in each school,” he concludes.