The date was July 26, 1996, when a powerful 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck the area of Konitsa, a town in northwestern Greece. Although no lives were lost, the consequences were devastating, with 16% of buildings deemed unsafe or unfit for use. For some residents, life changed forever in a matter of seconds. Among them were four siblings whose fate would be sealed in the most tragic way nearly three decades later. Their home was completely destroyed by the earthquake, and from that point on they lived in a container unit—a temporary solution that became a permanent reality.
In the early hours of Monday (June 15), the tragic final chapter of a story that began with the 1996 earthquake was written. A fire broke out in the container where the siblings lived, resulting in their deaths inside the flames. The victims were one man and three women, aged between 69 and 84.
According to reports, the siblings had refused for decades to leave the container, declining assistance offered by municipal social services and the local church for a new home or repairs to their old one. They had also reportedly turned down food assistance on multiple occasions.
Harsh Living Conditions
“As far as I know, all four siblings spent their entire lives in Konitsa, and none of them had families of their own—they only had each other,” Aris Dentopoulos, president of the Konitsa local community, told Ta Nea. “Through this tragic loss, I would like to highlight the need for timely state intervention in cases involving people living under precarious conditions.”
He added that he had submitted a relevant document to the competent authorities on April 1.
The document was forwarded to the municipality’s Social Services Department and subsequently sent to the prosecutor’s office. It stated: “The family living in the Kato Konitsa area appears to be surviving under particularly poor and unacceptable conditions. According to testimonies, conditions at the residence fail to meet basic standards of hygiene and safety, while it is also reported that family members resort to searching for food in garbage bins.”
“I requested an investigation into the family’s situation,” Dentopoulos said. “The report referred to adverse living conditions, extreme financial hardship, and there were also testimonies that some of the siblings suffered from serious health problems. The prosecutor ordered a preliminary investigation, the process moved forward, but these people eventually returned to the place where they had been living.”
He described the conditions inside the container, saying: “They had a stove inside the home but no chimney, and they also had no electricity. We visited the container many times to help them in any way we could.”
At the same time, according to Konitsa Mayor Andreas Papaspyrou, efforts had also been made to move the elderly siblings to a care facility, but they did not want to relocate.
Although the cause of the fire remains under investigation, authorities have not ruled out the possibility that it started from a candle or oil lamp used for lighting. Fire Department investigators are continuing their inquiry to determine the exact circumstances under which the tragic incident occurred.
