Initial evidence gathered by the Fire Department has shown that the wildfire in Rozena by Xylokastro, western Greece, was started by a beekeeper smoking honeybees, the Crimes of Arson Directorate announced on Wednesday.
The fire started on Sunday and killed two people, caused extensive destruction, as it burned for three days nonstop and only started to subside on Wednesday.
A Greek man, a deputy mayor in a municipality of the Corinth Prefecture, was fined with 3,000 euros for carrying out “hot work” (smoking bees) on September 29 in the village Rozena, around the time when the fire started and on a day when there was a Category 4 for Very High Risk of Fire.
According to protothema.gr information, the man confessed that he had indeed committed this action while knowing that the fire danger index for that day was Category 4.
He initially denied that on the day the fire broke out he was smoking his beehives, however, following a testimony by an eyewitness, he was forced to admit his act.
When asked if he was responsible for the wildfire, he answered negative, saying that his bees are 200 to 250 meters away from the point where the fire started.
However, well-informed sources point out that the work done by the deputy mayor coincides with the time when the fire started, with the investigation still ongoing.
The authorities are collecting evidence to forward to judicial authorities, so that criminal proceedings may begin regarding the start of the fire.
