Beekeeping deputy mayor faces arson investigation in deadly Corinthia fire
The 70-year-old deputy mayor of Xylokastro-Evrostini, in the Peloponnese, the main suspect for arson in a deadly fire that occurred in late September, has been given 48 hours to testify.
On Wednesday, a Corinth prosecutor ordered a preliminary investigation into the four-day fire that claimed two lives and burned 71 square kilometers of forest.
The deputy mayor was allegedly smoking his beehives to harvest honey on the day the fire started, despite a civil protection warning against such activity due to a high wildfire risk (level four) in the Rozena area. A local resident reported seeing the deputy mayor smoking his hives about 200-250 meters from where the fire ignited.
The fire service’s arson crimes directorate stated that the deputy mayor was fined last week.
Through his lawyers, he denies any involvement in the fire.
