Youth dies in diving ritual
A 19-year-old youth died yesterday while trying to retrieve a cross thrown into a frigid lake during a traditional Epiphany ceremony in a village in central Greece. Rescue services recovered the body of Christos Meletis after he failed to resurface following his plunge into the Kefalovrysso Lake, near Elassona, amid temperatures of 5 degrees Celsius (41 Fahrenheit). It is believed that Meletis drowned although a coroner had yet to rule on the cause of his death by late yesterday. Meletis’s brother, who had also dived in during the ceremony to bless the waters, was hospitalized in a state of shock after being saved when he had problems getting out. According to witnesses, the brothers were not from the area and had ignored warnings that the water was too cold. The religious ritual – supposed to bring good luck to the person who retrieves the cross – was carried out at lakes and rivers around the country yesterday without any other reported problems. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis attended a ceremony in Piraeus.
