No charges against speedboat captain

The captain of the speedboat that was involved in Sunday’s fatality has been released from custody, with reports saying a fisherman who was killed after being struck by the engine propeller did not use a surface marker buoy.

Police said a speedboat captain, who was arrested Monday in connection with an engine propeller boating fatality, was released from custody on Tuesday.

Local media said police did not press charges against the captain, described as a 44-year-old Larnaca resident, after it emerged that investigators did not find a floating device in the water near the scene of the accident.

Coast guard officers on Sunday afternoon rushed to an area in Oroklini where they pulled an injured man out of the water, identified as 40-year-old Stelios “Steven” Arhontous who was struck by the speedboat’s engine propeller.

Media reports said police investigators questioned the speedboat captain and his passengers, described as friends and relatives, who all said they did not see a blob in the water near the location where Arhontous was fatally struck.

Arhontous had gone to the beach with his wife and two young children, according to local media, with reports saying his family became concerned when he did not return from a solo spearfishing outing.

Police stopped short of saying the fisherman did not use a buoy, while local media quoted a police source who said officers and divers failed to locate any blob by that afternoon.

According to rules and regulations, scuba divers and diving fishermen are required to use a surface marker buoy in order to indicate their position to others.