Four elderly siblings dead in fire in container they used as home

As Konitsa Mayor Andreas Papaspyrou described to ANT1, the brothers were brought food by social services, adding that “we pressured them to move them to another building but they didn’t want to. We also had correspondence with the prosecutor.”

According to him, the container that had been given to them after the earthquake “was in their own field. Next door was the house that had been destroyed by the earthquake, they were tied to their place.”

He also clarified that the brothers “had not requested assistance to repair the house.”

Local residents describe a particularly difficult living situation for the four siblings, noting that they had recently mobilized to have the competent services intervene.

According to a resident who lives near the point where the fire broke out, the neighbors had collected signatures with the aim of informing social services and providing assistance to the siblings. According to him, the four siblings lived without electricity and often used candles or oil lamps to keep warm.

The same person emphasizes that the siblings did not create problems in the local community. However, as he claims, the situation of one of the siblings had recently caused concern, as she was looking for food in the trash of a local tavern, and had even been observed consuming dog food.

A resident who lives next to the container where the fire broke out describes that the fire was particularly intense and broke out at around 6 a.m. on Monday. As he says, the siblings were visited by a social worker and received food through the municipality. “Every day we saw one sister eating from the garbage, her siblings would pick it up as much as they could,” he says characteristically.

The shack where they lived burned down last year
According to information, the four siblings initially lived in their parental home, which over the years suffered serious damage and was deemed unsuitable.

They were then moved to a shack, which, according to the same information, was destroyed by fire last year, when a fire broke out in a stove they were using for heating.

Residents of Konitsa also emphasize that the brothers lived for years with animals, such as chickens, goats and sheep, in the space where they lived.

The same information states that in recent months the supply of electricity and water had been cut off, while previously they had access to both.