One Cretan man was killed, a man from central Greece suffered hand injuries and an American visiting Santorini was hospitalized in an intensive care unit following over-exuberant Easter celebrations in various parts of the country.

The 25-year-old from Crete was killed in Rethymno when a 40-year-old man fired shots into the air, a local tradition for religious and family occasions. A 23-year-old was also injured in the process. The 40-year-old was arrested.

A 25-year-old man from the village of Angelokastro in Aitoloakarnania was taken to the KAT accident and emergency hospital in Athens after a firecracker went off in his hands. The man’s 12-year-old brother also suffered minor injuries. It is also a Greek tradition to set off fireworks or firecrackers to celebrate Christ’s resurrection at midnight on Easter Saturday.

The American woman was one of seven people injured when a man threw a firecracker with a large amount of gunpowder into the courtyard of a church on Santorini. Three of those injured suffered burns and were hospitalized. Another three suffered minor injuries and needed only first aid treatment. The American woman was flown to the Venizelio Hospital in Iraklio, Crete, where she underwent stomach surgery.

Two men, aged 23 and 34, have been arrested in connection with the incident. They face charges of causing grievous bodily harm and of breaching firearms laws.

Police said that almost 122,000 firecrackers, 3 kilos of gunpowder and thousands for fireworks were confiscated during checks carried out between March 12 and April 20.
Source: Kathimerini