NEWS

In Brief

BEACH DEATH

Whirlwind brings boat down on boy’s head A 10-year-old boy was killed in a freak accident on a northern Greek beach yesterday when a sudden whirlwind caught up a boat and brought it down on top of him. Ioannis Mertzanidis was taken in critical condition to hospital in Katerini, where he succumbed. The boat had been beached and left keel up at Methoni, some 22 kilometers north of Katerini. Firework accident A young fireworks technician was recovering in the Rio hospital’s intensive care unit yesterday after suffering serious injuries on Friday night during a display in the northwestern Peloponnesian port city of Patras during an electoral speech by PASOK leader George Papandreou. Costas Nakos, 25, who was working for the company providing fireworks for Papandreou’s speech, was hurt when a firework exploded in his hands. Confidence trick A man has been arrested on suspicion of tricking at least 10 job-seekers out of a total 15,000 euros, police said on Saturday. The suspect, whose name was not made public, was arrested at Athens airport, where he allegedly arranged meetings with unemployed young people responding to a newspaper advert he had placed for jobs with a 1,500-euro monthly salary. Police said he promised his victims work as drivers, but demanded a 1,500-euro advance payment «as a guarantee.» Run aground A Greek-flagged carrier carrying crude oil from the Persian Gulf to France ran aground in the Suez Canal at 6 p.m. yesterday, the Merchant Marine Ministry announced. The Astro Phoenix, a newly built, double-hulled tanker, suffered a gash and took on water but all 21 crew members were well, the ministry said. The ship was carrying 148,000 tons of crude but no pollution was reported. There were 9 Greeks, 11 Filippinos and a Russian aboard.

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