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American dies in yacht sinking as crew testifies |
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October 2, 2000
ATHENS (AP) - A yacht carrying 38 people sank after hitting a rock off the Aegean Sea island of Naxos early Sunday, four days after another Greek ferry sank in one of the country's worst maritime accidents. The Zeus III sank after hitting a low-lying rock 1.5 miles (3.8 kilometers) from Naxos shortly after midnight. Naxos is about 170 kilometers (106 miles) southeast of Athens. All passengers - 26 Americans, one German, and three Greeks - and the seven-member crew were rescued from sea. But one of the Americans, Richard Idhe, of Strongville, Ohio, 82, died on the way to hospital after apparently suffering a heart attack, authorities said. "We heard a bang, and we put life jackets on them," crew member Niazim Bei told Mega television. "We threw life boats in the water. They didn't open. We told everybody to come out onto the deck ... It sank in 20 minutes, and that made it difficult." Sunday's accident - the fourth to hit Greece in a week - deepened the crisis facing this maritime nation. The government has faced growing criticism after the 34-year-old ferry Express Samina on Tuesday hit well-marked rocks, sank off Paros, an island neighboring Naxos, and killed at least 76 people in the country's worst maritime accident in 35 years. Divers continued Sunday to search the sunken ferry for at least five people still listed as missing. Public criticism has centered on the government's failure to provide rescue helicopters the night the Express Samina sank and the age of Greece's passenger ships: 29 years on average. In a safety crackdown, authorities Saturday suspended the operating licenses of 58 aging ferries and nine cruise ships - many serving routes to popular holiday islands. On Sunday, the Express Samina's captain, Vassilis Yannakis, his first officer and two other crew members - all charged with murder - began giving testimony before an investigating magistrate. Details of the hearing were not immediately available. Also Sunday, the offices of a company affiliated to Minoan Flying Dolphins, the Express Samina's operator, were damaged in an arson attack in central Athens. No one was hurt and there was no claim of responsibility. The Express Artemis, another Minoan ferry carrying 1,081 passengers, ran aground Thursday outside Naxos harbor. Late Friday, 575 passengers were stranded on the island of Syros for several hours after the ferry Rodos was hit by engine problems. No one was hurt in either incident. The European Union Friday asked the Greek government to provide a detailed report on Samina's sinking within a month. More than 10 million people travel on ferries in Greece every year. |