October 16, 2026

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Tragedy in Ilioupoli: CAT doctors are fighting for the life of a 17-year-old


17-year-old schoolgirl from Ilioupoliwho was injured in the tragedy along with her friend, remains in critical condition in the hospital’s intensive care unit CAT.

Doctors continue to fight for her life, and the local community tries to make sense of what happened.

According to Greek media reports, the girl was transferred to CAT from Asklipio Voulas and is in intensive care with severe injuries. As reported Ta Nea And in.grdoctors have not yet begun surgery, waiting for her condition to stabilize.

According to Greek publications, the schoolgirl was diagnosed with severe traumatic brain injuries, multiple fractures, including pelvic fractures, as well as injuries to internal organs. Doctors are doing everything possible to stabilize the girl’s condition. The wording “fight for life” in such cases usually sounds like a newspaper cliche, but here, alas, it is a literal description of the situation.

Her 17-year-old friend died. After the tragedy Municipality of Ilioupoli announced three days of mourningand the school where the girls studied was in a state of shock. Classmates and friends bring white flowers to the site of the tragedy and to the school desk of the deceased.

Video MEGA: story about the condition of a 17-year-old schoolgirl who remains in intensive care CAT after the tragedy in Ilioupoli.

Watch the video on the MEGA website

Psychologists are sent to school

After incidents a group was sent to school Greek Ministry of Education with psychologists and social workers. Their task is to support students, friends and classmates of girls who are experiencing severe emotional trauma. This was reported Athina 984 And Documento.

This decision is important not only as a formal reaction of the state. After such a tragedy, the teenage environment becomes extremely vulnerable: shock, guilt, fear, rumors, attempts to explain the inexplicable and painful conversations on social networks can aggravate the condition of those who are themselves in a psychological crisis.

That is why experts usually emphasize: after such events, help is needed not only by the family of the deceased and injured, but also by classmates, friends, teachers – everyone who was close to the tragedy and is now trying to cope with it.

“There were no signs”

The words of the girls’ teacher, who said on air in the Greek media that he did not notice anything in their behavior that could indicate a tragedy in advance, sounded especially hard. According to him, both were good, calm and beloved students at school, participated in classes, communicated with classmates, smiled and joked. His words lead EfSyn And News247.

The teacher said that shortly before the tragedy he talked to them, joked, gave advice, and went on a school excursion with them. When asked if he saw any warning signs, he replied that he did not notice anything of the kind, otherwise the school would have intervened immediately.

These words sound especially painful because they show one of the most terrible sides of the teenage crisis: outwardly a child may remain calm, polite, smiling and “normal,” but inside he is already in a state of deep hopelessness. The adults then repeat: “We didn’t see anything.” And often this is not an attempt to justify yourself, but a terrible truth.

Letter, diary and the pressure of the future

Greek media report that the deceased schoolgirl left a handwritten note in her backpack. In it, according to published data, she wrote about anxiety before panhellenic examsabout life after school and the depression she experienced. In the house of the second 17-year-old girl, for whose life doctors and nurses are now fighting, police, according to media reports, found a diary with similar references to anxiety, depression and disappointment in the future.

In addition, Greek publications report that one of the two minors lost her father about a year and a half ago. This loss, according to sources, had a severe impact on her psychological state and could increase signs of depressive behavior. It is important, however, to emphasize: such circumstances cannot be considered as the only and exhaustive cause of the tragedy. Rather, we are talking about a combination of factors – personal pain, exam pressure, anxiety for the future, internal isolation and lack of timely support.

Particular care must be taken in this part. Personal letters and diaries of teenagers should not be turned into material for emotional consumption. Yes, society needs to understand that test anxiety, depression, loss of a loved one, feeling stuck and lack of support can add up to a dangerous combination. But retelling every personal phrase of a deceased child means again taking away his right to dignity, after death.

Panhellenic exams For many teenagers in Greece, they are perceived not as one of the stages of education, but as almost the final verdict of their future life. For an adult, this may seem like an exaggeration. For a teenager who is already experiencing depression, anxiety, grief or loneliness, such stress can become a psychological wall beyond which he can no longer see a way out.

What experts say

After the tragedy, experts ΚΛΙΜΑΚΑ (CLIMAC), working in the field of suicide prevention, again reminded: self-harming and suicidal behavior is rarely a sudden and immediate reaction. More often it is a multifactorial process in which mental status, family and school environment, sense of safety, isolation and access to help are important.

According to Suicide Observatory KLIMAKalready in the first months 2026 Greece recorded an increase in cases in the age group 15–19 years old. Publications with reference to CLIMAC cite alarming statistics: in 2026, it was already reported 8 cases among adolescents 15–19 years old and one case in the group 12–14 years old. This data was published Dnews And To Vima.

Experts emphasize that prevention cannot begin after a tragedy. We need school psychologists, working mechanisms for early recognition of a crisis, support for families, training for teachers and a normal attitude towards seeking help. Simply put, the teenage psyche should not remain a zone where the state enters only after a disaster with a bouquet of condolences.

Where to go for help

In Greece it operates 24 hours a day Suicide crisis intervention line 1018 organizations CLIMAC. It is intended for people experiencing suicidal thoughts, their loved ones, professionals and organizations facing crisis situations.

In an emergency situation, you must contact 112, 166 or to the nearest medical services. If a teenager talks about an unwillingness to live, complete hopelessness, that he has become a burden, abruptly withdraws, says goodbye to loved ones, is depressed for a long time or stops coping with the usual workload, this cannot be attributed to “age”, “drama” or “exams”.

Editorial comment

Tragedy in Ilioupoli It should not remain just another piece of news that society will discuss, be horrified and forget. Here we are not just talking about two schoolgirls and not just about a specific family. We are talking about a system in which a teenager can be in a psychological crisis for a long time, but help comes too late or does not come at all.

The worst thing about the teacher’s words is not that he “didn’t notice anything.” The worst thing is that he probably really couldn’t notice. Many teenagers are able to hide pain so well that adults only see a smile, academic performance and politeness. Therefore, a support system cannot rely solely on the occasional attention of one teacher or one parent.

Greece has long discussed the pressure of exams, the shortage of school psychologists, the anxiety of teenagers and the fatigue of families after years of crises, pandemics and high costs. But each such tragedy shows that discussions are not enough. We need structures, people, money, training and available help. Otherwise, after each case, the state will again send psychologists to the school – after the most important thing was not heard on time.

Today Ilioupoli is grieving, and the doctors are CAT fighting for the life of a 17-year-old girl. Everything else – the investigation, phones, diaries, explanations, versions – should be secondary to two things: respect for families and the need to make sure that the next teenager is not left alone with the thought that there is no way out.



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