Arson attack on apartment building in Thessaloniki: "Anyone with a lighter is a murderer"
The husband of Vagia Nestora, who suffered serious injuries in an arson attack in Thessaloniki, spoke to ERT. Their daughter, a New Democracy MP, is being treated for burns.
Husband of arson victim in Thessaloniki: "They are criminals"
Panagiotis Nestoras described to ERT the dramatic moments his family experienced during an arson attack on an apartment building in Thessaloniki, in which his wife Vagia suffered serious injuries. According to Newsbeast, Vagia Nestora is the mother of New Democracy politician Aphrodite Nestora.
"The fire alarm went off. My wife went downstairs to check on the car. I was at the apartment entrance and went to get the phone," said Panagiotis Nestoras. He added that their daughter Aphrodite, who went to look for her mother, suffered burns to her hands and feet and cannot walk. "They are criminals," he concluded in a breaking voice.
He also stated that he is experiencing breathing difficulties and is undergoing medical examinations. "My daughter and I will stay strong. Whatever she has done so far, she has done on her own. We must show strength," he said. In closing, he characterised the use of a lighter as an act of murder: "When the other person has a lighter, he is a murderer. A lighter is like a bullet."
Testimony from a resident on the fifth floor
Also distressing is the account from Mr Georgos, a resident of the fifth floor of the apartment building, who spoke to the "News Room" programme on ERT News from Hippocrates Hospital, where he remains hospitalised. He estimated that he would be discharged within the day.
"I woke up at some point from a muffled sound, not exactly an explosion," he described. He heard car alarms going off and went out onto the balcony with his wife. Neighbours were shouting that there was smoke in the ground floor and asking someone to go down with a fire extinguisher.
Mr Georgos decided to go down to find out what had happened. "As soon as I opened the lift door, I saw the car was engulfed in flames. I was afraid to go out, because I would essentially be walking into the fire, and I went straight back upstairs," he said. Within minutes the windows started breaking, smoke poured into the building and "breathing was scorching."
Aphrodite Nestora found on the balcony
Mr Georgos and his wife heard voices from the stairwell and opened their apartment door. Moments later they realised that Aphrodite Nestora had taken shelter on their balcony.
"When the Fire Service arrived and the smoke cleared a bit, we found her lying on the balcony. We came to her aid and she kept muttering continuously 'my parents, my parents, my father, my mother'. She was in a state of shock," he described. She then went out into the building, located rescue workers and directed them to the fifth floor, where they retrieved Aphrodite.
Mr Georgos noted that after the fire there was absolute confusion in the building. "From what I could gather, the family was scattered in different places and everyone was searching for the others," he said. He expressed hope that, despite Aphrodite Nestora's serious burns and her father's injuries, "at least from what I know, they are not in immediate danger."
Source: Newsbeast