The tragedy at Violanta – The ghost of “Daniel” and the pipeline checks that never happened

“The proprietor of Violanta knew precise good astir the odor successful the factory. Whatever happened successful the factory, helium learned astir it immediately. Even the slightest thing. He didn’t conscionable enactment successful his office; helium would spell downstairs arsenic well. He doesn’t admit it to summation mitigating circumstances. Nothing happened without Tziortziotis—he was pulling the strings successful his businesses.”

Exactly 3 months aft the deadly detonation astatine the Violanta biscuit factory, the victims’ relatives—such arsenic Ms. Maria Katsarou, who mislaid her sister Eleni that dreadful dawn—speak calmly and firmly, having present travel to presumption with the devastating loss. She is wide astir what she wants, arsenic bash each relatives of the 5 women who died portion working: “Justice,” she says, adding: “Everyone liable astatine the mill knew. We don’t privation it to unopen down, but accountability indispensable beryllium assigned.”

Last Thursday, Violanta’s owner, Konstantinos Tziortziotis, appeared again earlier the Trikala investigating magistrate, this clip to reply charges of aggregate counts of negligent homicide and bodily harm. He remains successful pre-trial detention for the felony of detonation with imaginable intent, which resulted successful the deaths of 5 night-shift workers astatine the Trikala factory.

His archetypal petition for merchandise from pre-trial detention has been rejected, and helium has filed an entreaty earlier the competent judicial council. His main defence argument, citing lawsuit law, is that helium cannot beryllium accused of intent, arsenic this would mean helium not lone knew astir the hazard of detonation but besides accepted it arsenic a possibility. However, according to ineligible precedent, erstwhile determination is self-endangerment, intent cannot beryllium established. Tziortziotis argues that helium himself, arsenic good arsenic his children who enactment astatine Violanta, were contiguous regular astatine the factory.

At the aforesaid time, attraction returns to the flooding of the mill caused by tempest “Daniel” successful September 2023. At that time, arsenic shown successful photographic evidence, the facilities remained flooded for days, with h2o reaching important levels, arsenic happened crossed overmuch of Thessaly.

Tziortziotis’ broadside present looks to the tempest arsenic the starting constituent of the concatenation of events that yet led to corrosion successful the pipelines transporting propane from retention tanks to the factory. Yet precisely due to the fact that of that disaster, inspections of the pipelines for corrosion risks should person been much predominant and carried retired with greater diligence and thoroughness—both by the institution itself and by the competent nationalist authorities liable for oversight.

Operating licenses

Three months aft the fatal explosion, relatives are trying to set to their loss. Children are learning to unrecorded without their mothers, mothers without their daughters, men without their wives. Until recently, a constabulary patrol car stood regular extracurricular the locked main gross of the mill and the ammunition of the rear building. Investigations by occurrence brigade experts, arsenic good arsenic a study by the Polytechnic University, person outlined the mechanics and series of events starring to the tragedy.

Following the explosion, operating licenses for 2 different factories nether the aforesaid ownership were besides revoked. The Larissa mill has since resumed operations, portion the institution awaits a caller licence for its subsidiary VitaFree plant, hoping to reconstruct a important information of accumulation there.

Violanta has continued to proviso products to the market, astatine slightest wrong Greece, from its stockpiles. Recently, portion of its accumulation has been transferred to different section biscuit shaper nether an agreement: during the nighttime shift, Violanta employees nutrient its biscuits there—products that, earlier the tragedy, were exported to 20 countries.

The time aft the explosion, the institution announced that its astir 350 employees would proceed to beryllium paid usually until afloat operations resumed. However, according to accusation received by the Trikala Labor Center and its president Dimitris Armagos, employees were paid regularly until February and received their Easter bonus, but person not yet been paid for March. Additionally, complaints person reached the Labor Center alleging that the institution is requesting declaration changes—from full-time to part-time—in presumption of reopening the VitaFree unit. It is noted that successful the archetypal play aft the tragedy, the astir 350 employees appeared divided, with galore supporting their employer. Within this context, Tziortziotis is attempting to physique his defense. According to reports, the odor reported successful some the dishwashing country and the toilets was not linked to propane, arsenic determination were nary propane pipelines successful those areas; instead, pipelines ran underground implicit a 30-meter route. Thus, they assumed the contented was related to sewage, filled the toilets with cleaning agents and disinfectants, and the odor would travel and go.

Technical report

Tziortziotis is besides said to mention a method study stating that sulfur-based odorants (mercaptans), added to people odorless propane to observe leaks, were absorbed and neutralized underground by moisture and soil. The study notes: “The sulfur-containing odorant fraction of the substance was not detectable successful biology samples, though the main hydrocarbons of liquefied state were detected. This uncovering is afloat accordant with the internationally recognized improvement of odor fade—the simplification oregon nonaccomplishment of propane odor owed to adsorption, absorption, oregon oxidation of sulfur-based odorants. Technical lit acknowledges that erstwhile propane leaks underground and passes done soil, moisture, concrete, rust, oregon porous materials, mercaptans and different sulfur compounds whitethorn beryllium retained oregon transformed, resulting successful state that reaches the aboveground with weakened oregon undetectable odor. Therefore, the lack of sulfur compounds successful aboriginal biology samples does not negate a state leak but is technically accordant with underground state migration successful specified conditions.”

However, the question raised forcefully by victims’ relatives is wherefore workers’ complaints astir the odor were not thoroughly investigated—especially aft the demolition caused by tempest “Daniel.” “My sister and the different women are not coming back, but the proprietor should instrumentality responsibility. They kept telling him, and helium didn’t hole it. He doesn’t admit it due to the fact that helium wants mitigating circumstances and to beryllium released. He hasn’t adjacent apologized—he lies, due to the fact that if helium apologizes, it means helium admits fault. It was his factory,” says Ms. Katsarou.

Ms. Katsarou, who is trying to enactment her parent Androniki and her precocious sister’s son, has already testified earlier the investigating magistrate: “I said what I knew—that the odor had been determination for a agelong clip and we hoped thing would beryllium done. Nothing was done, and present they unreal the leader didn’t know. I see it an insult to the victims, to the women who died. We privation justice—money and compensation are not everything, nor should the leader effort to flight work with crumbs.”

According to disposable information, inspections were carried retired by a plumber astatine the facilities successful December 2025 and again successful January, conscionable days earlier the fatal explosion, but nary transportation was made betwixt the odor and the propane pipelines.

Failures

Particular value is fixed to the study by the Metallurgy Laboratory of the School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering astatine the National Technical University of Athens, prepared by Associate Professor Dr. Petros Tsakiridis. The adept report, submitted to the Fire Service successful aboriginal March and included successful the lawsuit file, identifies a bid of failures and omissions. Specifically:

■ Regarding the benignant of alloy utilized successful the pipelines: The observed nonaccomplishment is not attributed to unsuitable worldly oregon metallurgical deficiency, but to outer factors related to installation conditions and corrosion extortion of the underground section.

■ Regarding aging of the coating connected the above-ground section: “Although nary progressive corrosion was observed successful the examined above-ground sample, the information of the coating indicates a important simplification successful its protective capacity, being successful a signifier of functional degradation.”

■ Regarding the benignant of underground connections: “The usage of threaded connections successful the examined underground conception constitutes a high-risk operation practice, which, combined with the lack of outer anti-corrosion extortion and protective backfill, importantly contributed to localized corrosion. Although not the contiguous origin of perforation successful this case, the threaded transportation is identified arsenic a imaginable nonaccomplishment constituent and a deviation from champion practices and regulatory requirements for underground substance state installations.”

■ Regarding the lack of anti-corrosion protection: “The deficiency of some passive and progressive extortion near the pipeline afloat exposed to the earthy corrosive enactment of the soil, starring to extended pitting and yet through-wall failures. Therefore, the lack of anti-corrosion coating and cathodic extortion constitutes a large deviation from regulatory requirements and champion practices for underground substance pipelines and is simply a decisive origin successful the corrosion mechanics and premature failure.”

■ Regarding the lack of a protective soil layer: “Sand ensures azygous mechanical support, prevents localized stress, and chiefly acts arsenic a neutral and draining medium, reducing moisture retention and nonstop interaction of the metallic with assertive ungraded components. The lack of specified a protective furniture successful the examined installation constitutes a important deviation from regulatory requirements and champion engineering practices. Combined with the deficiency of outer anti-corrosion coating and cathodic protection, the nonstop placement of the tube successful natural, conductive, and moist ungraded importantly contributed to aggravated localized corrosion and premature failure.”

Before the investigating magistrate

It should beryllium noted that today, earlier the Trikala investigating magistrate, the mill manager and the accumulation manager are testifying arsenic caller defendants successful the Violanta tragedy. The charges they look see nonstop complicity successful an detonation with intent, aggregate counts of negligent homicide, and bodily harm. Meanwhile, the owner’s lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, stated aft his client’s supplementary grounds that Tziortziotis’ interest is to enactment the families of the victims for beingness and to guarantee that the astir 350 employees who beryllium connected the institution bash not suffer their jobs. “They are a family—not strangers. Employees are friends, relatives, chap villagers—that is wherefore they basal by him. We bash not privation to talk legally astir this case,” helium said.