Vassilis Yannakis News

A Greek public prosecutor on Tuesday ordered the captain and second officer of the sunken ferry Express Samina to be jailed pending trial on charges of manslaughter, an investigating magistrate said. The ferry hit a well-charted islet and sank last Tuesday, killing at least 79 people, just before reaching the Aegean island of Paros. It was reported that prosecutor Dimitris Dadinopoulos also formally charged the two with exposing passengers to danger resulting in death, causing a shipwreck and a series of lesser charges in what was Greece deadliest sea tragedy in decades. Captain Vassilis Yannakis has reportedly said he was unwell and taking a nap shortly before the crash.

The crew of Greek ferry Express Samina that sank killing 72 people blamed the disaster on bad weather, saying the ship would not obey commands. "The weather threw me on the rocks," one of the charged crewmembers said. The vessel's captain Vassilis Yannakis and three other crewmembers have been charged with manslaughter and were being held on Syros pending further investigation into how the ferry hit an islet and sunk shortly before reaching the island of Paros. Authorities are still mulling over how the ship, which was carrying more than 500 passengers, could have hit a well-charted islet with a lighthouse less than two miles from the shore. Witnesses have expressed that some of the crewmembers had been watching a soccer game on television just before the accident occurred.

The captain and four crewmen from the Greek ferry that sank off Paros with more than 500 passengers aboard were moved to another island to be formally charged with manslaughter, eyewitnesses said. Named as Vassilis Yannakis, the captain; his number two Tasso Psychoyios; trainee captain Yannis Patilas' radio operator Yannis Tsoumos; and seaman Panayotis Kazakis, the five were taken to a Coast Guard patrol boat and left Paros for the nearby island of Syros, the regional capital of the Cyclades island group. A Syros prosecutor is expected to spell out the charges against each crewmember late today or early on Friday, and to decide whether they should be held pending trial.

Greece launched manslaughter proceedings today, Thursday, September 28, against five members of the crew of the ferry Express Samina and pledged harsh punishment for anyone found responsible for its sinking. "The prosecutor has already begun charge proceedings against five people. He would not have done this without any grounds," Merchant Marine Minister Christos Papoutsis said. "If we find anyone has acted improperly, penalties will be harsh," he said. The captain and four crewmen were being held on the island of Paros, where the ferry, carrying more than 500 people, struck an islet and sank on Tuesday night. At least 65 people died. Some witnesses have said members of the Express Samina crew were watching a soccer match on television when the disaster occurred.