Greek minister resigns after ferry passenger death

Greece’s merchant marine minister said on Monday he had resigned over last week’s death of a passenger, who was forcefully pushed into the sea from a ferry.

A video that went viral on social media showed 36-year-old Antonis Kargiotis running onto the loading ramp of the ferry in Athens port, and crew members stopping him and pushing him back three times.

Kargiotis fell into the sea, and despite passengers screaming that he was in the water, the ferry left as initially scheduled. His body was eventually recovered from the water.

“The murder of Antonis Kargiotis by members of the Blue Horizon (ferry) crew shocked us all,” minister Miltiadis Varvitsiotis said in his resignation letter, which was posted on social media.

A government spokesman said the prime minister had accepted his resignation.

The ferry captain and three crew members face criminal charges over Kargiotis’s death.