“There was no proposal to evict citizens. Municipalities were required to comply with the mandate. Here are also the mayors to tell you if they could implement it. What I was looking for and found is that there were plans,” said the medical examiner, who is in court for the 11th day, considering 21 defendants in the tragedy in Eye.

Fire Chief Dimitris Liotsios, answering questions from the defense of the then head of the Fire Brigade Sotiris Terzudis, with absolute certainty once again formulated his unshakable position that there was time to save dozens of residents of the area if an organized evacuation took place before 17:30 on July 23 2018, which once again confirmed that, although there was a complete picture of the situation, the necessary recommendations were not given.

During the forensic expert’s responses, a resident of the area who was watching the process shouted out what dozens of other citizens who had lost their loved ones or received serious injuries from the destructive current of fire wanted to shout: “Five minutes, if we had. ..”.

The resident shouted that in those shocking moments, “two thousand people left without any instructions in their cars, and the rest went to the beaches,” and added that “I say this so that the truth is heard.”

The Resident’s intervention provoked a reaction from the President, who asked him to leave the room without any other comment.

The President then asked the expert, Mr. Liotsio, questions about this part of the case, which is considered to be one of the main issues of the trial.

• Chairman: If the offer order had been given at 5:20 p.m., could the people in Neos Vouhas have left by six?
• Witness: Yes, they could.
• President: Could the residents of Mati leave by 18.20?
• Witness: Of course… I insist on it. They could have gone to Nea Makri or Rafina. The only problem was in Kokkino Limanaki.
• Advocacy: Have the municipalities submitted plans for where they should go?
• Witness: Yes. They have plans where the residents will go, where they will receive the necessary first aid.
• Protection: Is it possible to implement the plan of the municipalities?
• Witness: But I’m telling you that the proposal was not given… The municipalities were obliged to implement it… There are also mayors here to tell you if they can implement it. What I searched for and found is what the plans were.

The interrogation of the witness by the defense continues.

Source: RES-IPE