A 6.5-year-old girl was found unconscious under a boat at the beach of Kalamaki in the Saronic Gulf of Isthmia by Corinth on Monday afternoon. Authorities arrested the father, a foreign national, on Tuesday.
According to a statement by the Greek Coast Guard, the body of the girl was discovered by an underwater fisherman who initially provided the girl with first aid.
An ambulance was called and the girl was transferred to the General Hospital of Corinth, where doctors could only confirm her death.she was pronounced dead.
Χωρίς τις αισθήσεις του ανασύρθηκε 6χρονο αλλοδαπό κορίτσι από τη θαλάσσια περιοχή Καλαμακιου Ισθμιων Κορίνθου. Διεκομισθη με ασθενοφόρο όχημα του EKAB στο Γ.N.Κορινθου.
— ΛΙΜΕΝΙΚΟ ΣΩΜΑ (@HCoastGuard) August 22, 2022
The Port Authority of Corinth is conducting a preliminary investigation and has ordered an autopsy.
The Port Authorities arrested the father for violating article 306 of the Criminal Code, that is for “fatal exposure of a minor.”
Citing the father’s statement to authorities, local media corinthostv reported that he went to the beach for a swim with his daughter and put a life jacket on the little girl. He had also entered the sea.
Suddenly the child slipped from the life jacket and reached a depth of six meters, he said, adding that he could not dive to pull her up as he has an asthma problem.
According to state broadcaster ERT on Tuesday, the father said also that he sought around for somebody to help him recover the girl.
The girl’s mother is hospitalized since Monday as she suffered a severe shock.
Witnesses and also relatives of the family flocked to authorities to give testimonies, the state broadcaster reported.
The family is from Albania, media reported.
UPDATE
Authorities try to find answers to several questions about the tragic death of the little girl and the role of the father.
Speaking to Star TV on Tuesday evening, Pavlos Bounas, the underwater fisherman who found the girl, said that the girl did not wear a bathing suit but only shorts, a t-shirt and sandals.
The boat was approximately 10 meters away from the shore, where only his wife and another bather were, Bounas added.
The girl’s mother confirmed in a telephone interview with Star TV, that the little girl did not know how to swim and that the father is suffering from asthma.
The parents are reportedly divorced and the father had visited the area to spend some time with the daughter.
