NEWS

In Brief

On-the-job deaths

Thessaloniki metro and Kozani PPC workers fatally injured A worker was crushed to death yesterday during construction under way in Thessaloniki to build the city’s first metro system. The worker was fatally injured when a section of an earth-moving machine at the site broke off and hit him. The worker’s identity and age were not revealed. State labor inspectors were probing the circumstances of the incident. Meanwhile in Kozani, northern Greece, a 47-year-old employee of the Public Power Corporation was fatally electrocuted while trying to fix a broken high-voltage cable in the village of Kato Komi. Rio-Antirio Bridge Toll for cars up by 50 cents Car drivers will have to pay 50 cents more to cross the Rio-Antirio bridge in western Greece from Monday, the company that manages the tolls said yesterday. The cost of going across the bridge, which connects the Peloponnese with western Greece, will rise to 11.20 euros for cars but buses and trucks will have to pay up to 9 euros more than they do currently. Two-hour return tickets will remain at 12.50 euros for cars. There will also be no change in the cost of each crossing with an e-pass or a weekly card. The fee for motorcyclists will not rise either. Shooter sought Police were yesterday seeking an assailant who opened fire on two people in a sports utility vehicle, killing the passenger and seriously injuring the driver, in northwestern Athens. The attack occurred under the bridge of the urban electric railway station at Pefkakia, police said. Food warning The Hellenic Food Authority (EFET) yesterday announced the withdrawal from supermarket shelves of a range of US-manufactured snack bars containing peanut butter due to fears that the products might be infected with salmonella. The products are distributed by the Greek firm Nature’s Plus which said no tainted products have been found. EFET asked for the goods to be withdrawn as a precaution. Violent robbery Three armed robbers yesterday fled with an unidentified sum after holding up a convenience store in Thessaloniki in a raid that resulted in two customers sustaining minor injuries. It was unclear how the injuries occurred. Murder suspect Police in Athens yesterday were questioning a 30-year-old former fugitive of Malandrinos Prison in central Greece in connection with the murder of a 68-year-old woman at her home in Patissia last November. The man, who was traced to a Roma settlement in Megara, western Attica, allegedly has admitted to killing the woman and burgling her home. Health recruitment A Health Ministry bill including provisions for the hiring of 2,000 doctors and 5,500 nurses was submitted in Parliament yesterday. The bill also includes provisions foreseeing salary increases. Hospital infections Two patients, aged 55 and 74, who are being treated in the intensive-care unit of Thessaloniki’s Ippocrateio Hospital after contracting a hospital bug are in stable condition, doctors said yesterday.

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