Trikala: The husband of the 42-year-old woman is moved – “It turned out to be a day’s wage of terror”

Unable to hold back his tears, the husband of 42-year-old Vasiliki Skampardoni from Gardiki, Trikala, who lost her life in the fire at the “Violanta” biscuit factory, spoke to STAR on Tuesday (27/1), one day after the tragedy.

“My wife was an excellent wife, mother, and a fighter of life. I just want to say that it was all in vain. She went to earn her living, and it turned out to be a day’s wage of terror,” said her husband, with whom she had two children, aged 6.5 and 4.5 years.

“The lights will go out, the curtain will fall, the children will search for their mothers, and they will never again call out ‘mom.’ I just want to make an appeal that this should never happen again. I hope these are the last victims of a tragedy involving working women who go to earn their daily wage,” he added.

“I need to stand by my children’s side. There are others responsible to find the causes. If I could change it, I would want to leave and let my wife stay. I can’t do it, I wish I could. I promise in my wife’s memory that I will be both mother and father to these children. I will laugh for them, but inside, I will cry,” he concluded.

It is reminded that the faces of the tragedy are Agapi (whose last name has not been disclosed), Stavroula Boukouvala from Karditsa, a mother of three children, 42-year-old Vasiliki Skampardoni from Gardiki, Trikala, a mother of two children, Anastasia Nasiou from Grizano, Farkadona, and 45-year-old Elena Katsarou from Glino, a mother of a 13-year-old child.

In terms of the investigations, the testimonies of key individuals are expected to shed light on the causes of the workplace accident.

Specifically, the factory’s safety technician, who has already testified, is considered a very important figure for the development of the investigation. Additionally, the six workers who were injured and transported to the hospital after the explosion yesterday will also testify, along with the owners of the company.

The Directorate of Arson Investigation of the Fire Service continues its investigations to determine how the tragic accident occurred. A key question remains whether any warning system was activated for the workers. As Andreas Stoimenidis, the president of OSETEE and vice president of the European Agency for Health and Safety at Work, highlighted in his interview with NEWS 24/7, it is particularly concerning that no firefighting or fire safety system functioned to provide workers with enough time to evacuate.