Arson in Thessaloniki: Vagia Nestor's husband describes the two explosions
Panagiotis Nestor spoke to Newsit.gr about the dramatic moments of the petrol bomb attack that cost his wife her life. Vagia went down to see what was happening and was caught by the second explosion.
Wife's husband in Thessaloniki: "My wife went down to help — then the second explosion happened"
At 04:35 on 1 July 2026, the apartment building in Thessaloniki where New Democracy MP Aphrodite Nestor lives came under the third arson attack in sequence. At least three perpetrators placed petrol bombs in the entrance hall, where cars belonging to her, her parents and other residents were parked. The result: the death of her 72-year-old mother, Vagia Nestor.
Vagia's husband, Panagiotis Nestor, described exclusively to Newsit.gr, moment by moment, the moments of the two explosions.
"The car alarm went off"
"Around 4:30 in the morning the alarm on my car went off," Panagiotis says. "My wife woke me up and told me to go down. I looked out of the window and went down to see what was happening. As soon as I got downstairs, I saw that the car had caught fire."
He immediately returned to the fourth floor to move the children and notify the fire brigade and police. At that moment Vagia asked him what had happened — and told him she was going down too. "I didn't see her, because she had already gone out," notes Panagiotis.
The blast wave on the third floor
Subsequently, as he was going down again — this time taking the children and his phone with him — the second explosion "caught" him at the turn between the fourth and third floors. "My wife had gone down lower and all this blast wave affected her," says Panagiotis.
The flames that flooded the entrance hall prevented him from going down to see what had happened to his wife. He was forced to go up to the sixth floor, where residents came out onto balconies to get air. "I was forced to go up to the sixth floor, because the space had filled up," he explains.
Vagia did not survive
Despite the efforts of doctors, Vagia Nestor succumbed to her injuries. Panagiotis — who had already lost his 37-year-old daughter, Nikoleta, five years earlier — had pleaded with God to give his wife the strength to endure. This new family loss is added to an already heavy ordeal.
He himself came out of the attack without burns. "My oesophagus stings a bit, because I inhaled the smoke, but otherwise I'm fine," he states.
"They are criminals"
Concluding his statement to Newsit.gr, Panagiotis Nestor leaves no doubt as to how he characterises the perpetrators: "They are criminals. Definitely criminals with petrol bombs and Molotov cocktails. That's what they're trying to do." As to the wider situation, he commented: "They have spoiled all these people far too much."
According to information that has become known so far, at least three perpetrators were involved in the attack, whilst the authorities' investigation is ongoing.
Source: Newsit.gr