Eight days after the deadly fires in Eastern Attica, Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis admitted that at the time the prime minister was holding a conference on the night of 23 July, there were unconfirmed reports that two people had died.

“A death is confirmed once a coroner or doctor puts their stamp (on a death certificate),» Polakis said.

In an effort to justify the “silence” of the government on the issue until the time of the high-level conference, Polakis said that, “Only later did the rescue teams start entering Mati, and we saw what happened with automobiles and houses, and then government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos came out and said there were 20 dead,” Polakis said.

“Would we have hidden the dead in our homes?” Polakis said.

After the general popular outcry over errors and complacency, Polakis conceded that, “Obviously, all was not done well.”

“Since we are the government, we obviously have responsibility, both for the fact that some were saved and that some people died,” he said.

Eight days after the deadly fires in Eastern Attica, Alternate Health Minister Pavlos Polakis admitted that at the time the prime minister was holding a conference on the night of 23 July, there were unconfirmed reports that two people had died.

“A death is confirmed once a coroner or doctor puts their stamp (on a death certificate.

In an effort to justify the “silence” of the government on the issue until the time of the high-level conference, Polakis said that, “Only later did the rescue teams start entering Mati, and we saw what happened with automobiles and houses, and then government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos came out and said there were 20 dead,” Polakis said.

“Would we have hidden the dead in our homes?” Polakis said.

After the general popular outcry over errors and complacency, Polakis conceded that, “Obviously, all was not done well.”

“Since we are the government, we obviously have responsibility, both for the fact that some were saved and that some people died,” he said.

Headlines