Workplace accident in Trikala: “It smelled like LPG” – Complaints that were ignored

Today, the three individuals who were arrested, including the factory owner, will be brought before the competent Prosecutor of Trikala for the explosion and fire that claimed the lives of five female workers at the “Violanta” biscuit factory.

The Fire Crimes Department made three arrests on Tuesday, January 27th, in connection with the deadly explosion and fire, which led to the tragedy of five female workers at the Violanta factory. The arrested individuals are the company’s owner, the safety technician, and the shift technician, all of whom are being investigated by the officers of the Fire Crimes Department, who are conducting a preliminary investigation into the tragic incident.

A criminal case has been formed against the three arrested individuals for acts and omissions related to crimes involving manslaughter by negligence, serious bodily harm in a continuous manner, arson, and explosion.

According to information from the factory inspection, propane pipes were found in the factory’s basement that had been punctured.

“The women couldn’t go to the toilets because it smelled like LPG”

According to ERT, one of the shift workers testified that before the explosion, there was a gas smell in the production area, where the ovens were located. Additionally, according to ERT, there are testimonies from workers who state that the factory had smelled like gas for days, and complaints were made to the responsible individuals, but nothing was done about the issue, leading to the tragedy.

The sister of one of the victims told MEGA that many people said that there had been a strong smell of LPG in the factory for a long time before the tragedy.

“Ladies who come to the house to offer their condolences say that the whole factory smelled, and that the women couldn’t go to the toilets because they closed their noses due to the smell of gas. My mother repeatedly said that the factory smelled of gas and would say, ‘In the end, no one listens, I’m saying this for nothing, they’re going to blow us up.’ My mother had been saying this for a long time, more than a month. My mother was the production manager on the morning shift, and my sister worked at night.”

“The issue is that the fire broke out and my sister burned without reason because some people didn’t do their job properly, because some didn’t seal what they should have, to prevent a leak. A factory doesn’t catch fire like that. She left behind a child, and his mother will never come back, for nothing… My sister was 44 years old. People go to work and expect to return home, and these women burned to death,” she concludes.