By
The Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece - The men accused of causing Greece's deadliest ferry disaster in 35 years testified for a second day yesterday, and one defendant said bad weather, human error and "other reasons" were to blame for the accident.
Four crew members have been charged with murder over the sinking of the 34-year-old ferry Express Samina. The ship sank Sept. 26 off the island of Paros with more than 500 people on board after smashing into well-marked rocky islets, killing at least 79 people.
The defendants face a total of seven blanket charges, the most serious being multiple counts of homicide with possible intent. A magistrate can specify the charges for each defendant.
Hearings for the four defendants have been closed. But one of the four, first officer Tassos Psychoyos, told Mega Television that "possibly there was human error, there was the weather, other reasons" behind the crash.
"The human error is hypothetically mine, a wrong appraisal of weather conditions. My conscience is clear. I did all I could," Psychoyos, who has not yet testified at the hearing, told Mega in a telephone interview.
He said the captain, Vassilis Yannakis, was "resting" in his cabin at the time. He claimed he had seen rocks nearly 30 yards high and lit by a beacon, but that winds gusting from 38 to 54 miles per hour shoved the ferry onto the crag.
Newspapers have reported that Yannakis told investigators he was taking a nap and that his first officer was off the bridge flirting with a passenger at the time of the crash. Yannakis testified for more than 15 hours Sunday and yesterday at the hearing on the island of Syros. Psychoyos and two crewmen were expected to testify today.
Meanwhile, divers were unable to examine the sunken ferry's garage section because of at least 34 vehicles jammed inside. There are fears the death toll could rise when they enter the garage, the largest part of the 345-foot ferry that has not yet been searched.
The Express Samina's operator, called Minoan Flying Dolphins, was served with criminal charges for exposing passengers to danger. And shipping companies began making repairs on more than 60 ferries that had their licenses suspended over the weekend after failing safety tests.
The ban imposed by Greece's merchant marine ministry will be reviewed in 20 days, but it stranded hundreds of passengers, tourists, and goods headed for islands in the Aegean Sea.
The three main opposition parties - from communist to conservative - said the government's failure to modernize the shipping industry made it politically responsible for the ferry sinking.
The government has promised to overhaul the industry, and Premier Costas Simitis planned to address parliament on the issue tomorrow.
