UPDATE: The Fire Department announced the findings of their investigation: The ground underneath the plant had been soaking with GPL gas for “many months” before the explosion on Monday morning. The spill reached a 25m radius around the punctured pipe, which was found to be 80cm underneath the building. Fumes collected in the basement of the building, directly underneath the production area, where the mechanism feeding the ovens via the pipes was located. A spark from this mechanism set off the explosion.
A huge fire broke out in the early hours of Monday morning (January 26) at Violanta Cookies’ Trikala factory in Greece, claiming the lives of five employees. Eight more workers on the night shift managed to escape safely. The fire was caused by a powerful explosion, according to multiple reports. Six workers and a firefighter were taken to the hospital and were mainly suffering from respiratory problems, but were otherwise unharmed, health minister Adonis Georgiadis shared.
The factory was severely damaged, with little of the building left standing after hours-long fire department intervention. More than 50 firefighters and 16 fire trucks were deployed at the fire site.
Authorities announced that on Tuesday evening, Violanta factory’s owner, Konstantinos Tziortziotis, as well as the safety technician and the shift manager were arrested for “acts and omissions related to offenses involving manslaughter by negligence, serial grievous bodily harm, arson, and explosion,” Newsit reports. The three were detained to be brought to the competent Trikala Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday, January 28.
According to a worker’s testimony, there was a smell of gas around the bakery’s ovens. As the investigation into the cause of the blaze is underway, punctured propane pipes were found in the basement of the factory, underneath the floor where the five women who lost their lives were working. The propane tanks that powered the ovens were found intact. The Fire Department will announce the investigation results as the scene continues to be inspected and the debris removed, CNN reports.
The Regional Council of Thessaly declared three days of mourning following the workers’ death.
With a turnover of over EUR 40 million, Violanta’s main headquarters are in Trikala, where the fire broke out. It has three other locations, a factory in Larissa, as well as a branch in Athens and one in Thessaloniki. It has an international distribution network with 42 centers worldwide, as well as partnerships with numerous big retailers such as 7-Eleven, Billa, Carrefour, Delhaize, Kaufland, Tesco, Lidl, and more.
Photo: Screen capture, ERT (Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation) YouTube video
Related stories:
Violanta invests EUR 4.2 m in green manufacturing innovation