A 78-year-old patient has been formally charged with intentional arson and aggravated property damage following the fire that broke out at Sismanogleio Hospital in Greece, authorities said.
The case has now been referred to an investigating judge after prosecutors filed criminal charges against the suspect.
The fire erupted in the early hours of Thursday in the hospital’s First Internal Medicine ward, triggering panic and a large-scale evacuation.
According to investigators, the patient admitted during questioning that he deliberately started the fire inside Room 10 on the ward’s first floor. He had initially claimed that the blaze began accidentally after he lit a cigarette. However, following further questioning by fire service investigators, he reportedly confessed to intentionally setting fire to a mattress.
According to Greece’s public broadcaster ERT, the suspect told investigators he had been under severe psychological pressure and wanted to vent his frustration. The fire quickly spread, leading to a complex evacuation operation inside the hospital.
Authorities said the patient left the hospital after the fire and returned to his home in the Athens suburb of Nea Filadelfeia. His absence was discovered during a patient count, prompting police to locate him at his residence before taking him into custody.
Following his appearance before a prosecutor, criminal charges of intentional arson and aggravated property damage were brought against the 78-year-old. The investigation into the incident is continuing under the supervision of the judicial authorities.
