Five members of Greek rescue team killed in Libya, two missing
Five members of a Greek rescue team en route to the flood-ravaged city of Derna from Benghazi were killed in a road accident on Sunday, while two were missing, the country’s Defense Minister Nikos Dendias confirmed on Monday.
Their bodies, two of which have not been identified, were being transported by a C-27 which is expected to land in Elefsina’s military base.
The injured, who traveled separately in a C-130, landed at Elefsina airport on Monday morning and taken to the hospitals of Athens by ambulances from the 115th Combat Wing.
According to a diplomatic source on Sunday, the Greek rescue team had 16 members plus three interpreters. They were on their way to join teams already on the ground from other countries including Turkey, France, Italy and Egypt. The Greek team left Athens on Sunday morning.
Information on the accident was initially unclear. News of the crash was first announced by Othman Abduljaleel, health minister for the Libyan eastern government on Sunday, who told a news conference that a bus carrying 19 Greek rescue workers collided with a vehicle carrying five Libyan nationals on the road between the cities of Benghazi and Derna. Three Libyans in the oncoming vehicle were also killed.
He also said that seven of the surviving Greek rescue workers were in critical condition.
Early Monday morning, Greece’s armed forces said three members of the team were dead and two were missing.
