Attica governor summoned by prosecutor over deadly 2017 west Attica flood

IOANNA MANDROU

Attica Regional Governor Rena Dourou and another nine officials have been summoned by a prosecutor as suspects in the deaths of 23 people and in the widespread destruction caused by a flash flood in the west Attica town of Mandra last November.

Sources said that following a months-long investigation into the incident, the Athens Prosecutor's Office on Friday also sent summons to the regional official responsible for flood prevention work, Mandra Mayor Ioanna Kriekouki, officials at the local authority's technical department and other officials at the forestry and zoning services of Egaleo, the neighboring district.

The suspects will be giving their depositions to the West Attica Police Directorate so that the file can then be sent back to the Athens Prosecutor's Office, which will determine whether there are grounds for criminal charges to be brought.

The investigation includes the findings of a probe by Public Administration General Inspector Maria Papaspyrou that pointed to widespread illegal construction, poor anti-flood infrastructure and numerous oversights as the main causes of the deadly flood.

In her report, however, Papaspyrou does not point a finger at the Attica Regional Authority.