Stove fires kill two on Lesvos but PPC denies culpability
Fears of a new spate of deaths caused by the increased use of wood-fired heaters and braziers amid the latest cold snap peaked on Thursday following the death of two elderly residents of Lesvos this week.
On Wednesday, rescue workers recovered the remains of a 90-year-old woman from her home in the village of Vasilika in central Lesvos after her heater started a fire.
On Tuesday, a 75-year-old woman from the region of Kerami died in the intensive-care unit of a Lesvos hospital after a brazier she had been using set fire to her home earlier in the day.
Responding to reports that both women had turned to alternative forms of heating after their electricity was cut off due to debts, the Public Power Corporation clarified yesterday that the 90-year-old had not had her electricity cut off, while in the case of the younger victim, power was suspended in May 2013 and reconnected within three days after a debt payment plan was devised.
