11 people stand trial over the death of an 11-year-old boy at a Serres school after a boiler explosion

The Serres City Court began hearing a case against 11 people for the death of an 11-year-old student and the injury of two others in the courtyard of the 9th primary school after a boiler explosion that occurred in December 2022 during work on the energy modernization of the heating system.

The defendants include a construction site engineer, an electrical installation team leader, six employees of the maintenance department of the municipality of Serres, the (at the time) director of a primary school, the ex-director of the Serres primary education department and the coordinator of an educational project.

According to APE-MPA, the defendants will be prosecuted depending on the circumstances: for negligent explosion resulting in danger to a person, and for manslaughter and negligent bodily injury committed by the person responsible (all offenses are misdemeanors). The case came to trial after an investigation by the Serres prosecutor's office.

December 5, 2022 sixth grade student of the 9th school in Serres died due to an explosion in the school boiler room. The tragedy could have been avoided if the fatal explosion had occurred during a lesson, and not during recess, when the children were in the school yard. The specialist who carried out the work informed the director of the educational institution that he had finished, but the boiler switches remained inactive.

The explosion occurred during recess. It was so powerful that the broken door flew several meters away, fatally injuring a 12-year-old boy. Of the three victims, the deceased is the oldest. The other two are first and fourth grade students. They received first aid.

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