The owner of a top Greek food company has been formally arrested and faces a life sentence after a deadly explosion killed five workers at his factory last month, a lawyer representing victims said Sunday.
Constantinos Tziortziotis, 52, was arrested Saturday and will testify next week over Greece’s worst industrial accident in decades.
Tziortziotis is accused of failing to act on signs of a long-running propane leak at the Violanta company’s flagship factory near Trikala, central Greece.
“Employees have testified that there had been a strange smell for months. Furthermore, according to the investigation so far, the owner did not ensure that the necessary (repairs) were carried out, for financial reasons. There are also many questions about how the factory was licensed without the necessary checks being carried out,” Christos Patounas, a lawyer representing the families of two victims, told AFP on Sunday.
The explosion early on January 26 obliterated a section of the factory, killing five women. More staff scheduled to work that day had been on leave.
An investigator handling the case on Saturday charged Tziortziotis with arson and explosion with possible intent, for which he could face up to life imprisonment, Patounas said.
Tziortziotis had been originally detained the day after the accident and released pending trial after been charged with negligent homicide.
Greek fire department investigators have said the explosion and subsequent fire were caused by a months-long propane leak in pipes connecting a tank to the factory’s facilities.
“This significant propane leak, through the ground, moved about 25 metres and was trapped in an underground space, where, in the presence of sparks caused by electrical equipment in the facility, it led to an explosion,” the fire department said in a statement last month.
Violanta has insisted that it “strictly applies protocols and procedures, adhering to all measures for the safety of our staff and facilities.”
The Violanta plant outside Trikala, the company’s first and largest, produced 12,500 tons of biscuits, cookies, and wafers per year, according to the company’s website.
The brand is among the fastest-growing in Greece, with a major presence in retailers, and exports to around 40 countries.
