Greece probes factory fire as fifth victim found

ATHENS: Greek investigators were looking into the causes of a fire that killed five workers at a biscuit factory in the country's worst industrial accident in years. The explosion early on Monday ripped through an entire section of the Violanta factory near the central Greek city of Trikala. 'The case will be investigated to the end... possibly, even today, we may have an initial picture of what caused the fire,' Civil Protection Minister Giannis Kefalogiannis said.
Four of the victims were found soon after the blast but the fifth was only recovered on Tuesday morning as pockets of fire made the operation difficult, the fire department said. A fire department officer said that a gas leak may have caused the fire but they 'cannot rule out another possibility' yet. 'It is too early to have a detailed report,' the officer said.
A source in the Trikala prosecutor's office said the department was supervising the investigation. 'The case file will include possible criminal responsibility over security failures at the factory,' they said. The deaths have shocked local communities around Trikala, which provide much of the company's workforce. — AFP