The mayor of Stilida in Greece, Ioannis Apostolou, a contractor and the owner of a wind farm were remanded in custody after testifying on investigations into the fire that broke out at a wind farm in Viotia and spread rapidly to Western Attica, burning large areas of forest.
Investigators concluded that the fire was started by sparks caused by faults in an electricity transmission network built by the mayor’s company. The decision came after a long testimony process that ended in the early hours of August 7 in a court in Thebes.
Joanis Apostolou, after the decision, declared that he fully respects the institutions and decisions of the Greek judiciary, but insisted that he is not responsible for the tragedy, adding that the truth will come to light. On June 27, another fire broke out on the same power line, about 100 meters away from the place where the last outbreak is suspected to have started.
Although it was quickly brought under control, the authorities are verifying whether the necessary security checks were carried out after the incident and whether measures were taken to eliminate the identified problems. Mayor Apostolou and two other people face serious criminal charges and their case file will also include the fatal collision of two helicopters in Psatha during the firefighting operation in Western Attica, where two people lost their lives.
