The wedding trip of Irish citizen Zoe Maria Holohan and her husband Brian to Greece in the summer of 2018 turned into a tragedy, as the newlyweds stayed at a villa in Mati.

The day of July 23 turned into a nightmare, described in court today by Ms. Hulohan, who saw the man she married four days ago disappear, vanishing in flames that engulfed them.

With the help of an interpreter, the woman with tears in her eyes described what happened that day, which left a scar on her life forever.

“We woke up in the morning, had breakfast and sat by the pool. We were swimming and my husband called my mom because it was her birthday. He told her that he loved her and that was his last phone call. At noon we went inside to rest. It was very hot. We are from Ireland and are not used to such temperatures. We made love and slept for the last time, ”said the witness, telling how those moments of happiness turned into horror when, an hour later, a fire caught fire in their garden and now they had to run to escape.

“Inside the villa was a car that we rented. We jumped into the car and tried to open the garage door. It didn’t open. Then we realized that the electricity was out. Brian remembered that the landlady told us that there was a key to open the garage door, but it didn’t work. We spent useful minutes there. We saw that the fire surrounded us. We realized that we needed to run. I made him promise me that everything will be fine with us, he promised me this, but he could not keep his promise, ”the witness said weeping.

Continuing her testimony, she described how, not knowing where to go, they ran. “There was smoke everywhere, the place was dark. It was very difficult to breathe. Our eyes burned. We couldn’t see properly and couldn’t breathe. We ran and went to the right. We thought it was the sea. We try to run straight and to the right. We met several women and they looked like they came from the sea. They appeared out of nowhere in the smoke. We were told not to go there. I realized that my dress and legs were on fire, I can’t describe it to you. Brian put out the fire with his hands, but we had to keep running, maybe we went back the way we came, I don’t know. It was like a fiery hurricane. My hair and clothes were on fire. We went out to the road and saw very small children. Four five. There was no adult. We took them in our arms and ran. Suddenly a car appeared. We stopped it, put the kids in jail. We realized that there was no place for us. I asked the driver to put us in the trunk. The car started up, and we feel that it is going uphill. The flames continued to approach us, lick us. My hand is stuck in the hood. My whole body was on fire. Brian’s clothes also caught fire. The car suddenly crashed into a tree. The tree fell on us. Brian started screaming and I couldn’t hold his hand. He fell out of the car into the fire. His last word was “why”. I tried to yell at him, I wanted him to hear how much I love him and that he is the best husband. I knew he was dead, he disappeared in the fire and I heard him scream. I was sitting in the trunk, and it seemed to me that this was my coffin. I can’t describe the pain. My face began to melt and I sat and waited for my death.”

A witness told how a firefighter saved her. “He grabbed me, hugged me and pulled me out of the car. I think he came because he heard me say Brian’s name. He grabbed me, hugged me, pulled me out and pierced me with fire. He led me into what looked like a fire truck. I asked him to come back and pick up Brian, but I don’t think he understood me. The driver ran at high speed and talked to me to calm me down. I looked at my hands: the skin began to peel off, it was like in a horror movie, I could not see with one eye. My hair fell and stuck to my body. I realized that the pieces of the dress were still on fire. My shoes are on fire. I thought I was boiling. I asked them to take off my clothes. Unfortunately, the woman next to me did not understand anything and started pouring water on me. I told her to cut my clothes. At first I did not understand, then I understood. The skin came off along with the fabric. I realized that everything was burned. I was so hot at first, and then so cold. I couldn’t control my body. I kept asking them to find Brian.”

As the witness said, she was put into an ambulance, where she faced a different situation, a different “hell”: “I was taken away in an ambulance, the pain was so strong. There were two people there and I begged them to give me something for the pain. They didn’t answer. I cried. I screamed and asked for help. I thought I would die. They started laughing. I don’t know why they laughed. One of those who spoke good English told me to “shut up”, which I did. I felt like I was going to die anyway. I was taken to the hospital, then I realized that there were a lot of burned people there. Everyone was screaming and crying everywhere. It smelled of burnt skin. I have been there for a long time, as have others. It was hell. I realized that I still have the bag. Someone came up to me and asked where I was from and I told him I was from Ireland. He said I can help you, I know someone at the embassy. I asked for painkillers. I think he was talking to someone. They knew I had health insurance because I gave it to him. I was taken out of intensive care, moved to another floor, and I think it’s because I had private insurance. I was placed in a room with a window. I could see my face. Half of the face turned black and melted. My eye was closed. Now I see. I lay in bed and cried. It must have been night. I asked the nurse something about the pain, she did not pay attention to me, I asked again, and she said: “I can’t until the doctor arrives.” I sat and waited for death. It felt like my whole body had been eaten. I closed my eyes and waited for death. A woman came from the Irish embassy. I recognized her. It turns out that we went to college together and studied ancient Greek. That’s why we came here to Greece. It was my dream. I told her everything. That I saw my husband die. I didn’t want to believe it. I begged her to find Brian. He went and found a doctor. He filled the hospital with people. I realized that the doctors were trying to help them. They forgot me because I was behind a curtain,” said the witness, who, according to her, then spent about a month in the hospital in a private clinic, where she underwent several operations and saved her eye.

In this clinic, she learned about the discovery of Brian’s body, as well as the loss of her father in Ireland, which was another blow for her. “I thought that maybe Brian was saved and he is in another hospital. My brother told me he died in the fire,” said Ms Khulohan.

Source: RES