A tragedy shook European soccer in the lead-up to a Europa League match. Seven PAOK fans from Greece died on Tuesday in a traffic accident in Romania, while they were traveling to France to attend the match against Lyon, scheduled for Thursday.
The fatal incident occurred in the west of the country, on highway DN6-E70, in the vicinity of Lugojelul. The minivan in which ten fans of the Greek team were traveling attempted to overtake a truck on a straight stretch, lost control, and crashed head-on into another heavy vehicle that was traveling in the opposite direction.
After the violent head-on impact, the vehicle was pushed toward the shoulder and ended up being sideswiped by a third truck that was traveling in the same direction. Another car was also involved in the crash, which increased the severity of the collision.
According to the first official reports, seven people died at the scene, while the other three were rescued with injuries of varying severity and were rushed to nearby hospitals. The rescue efforts were hampered by adverse weather conditions in the area.
Raed Arafat, head of the Emergency Department of Romania, provided details about the operation: "The accident involved several vehicles, including a tanker truck loaded with alcohol. Fortunately, there were no leaks or additional risks. The use of helicopters was requested, but the bad weather prevented it".
After the fatal event, the president of the Greek club, Ivan Savvidis, spoke about it and did not hide his anguish. "I am devastated by the unjust loss of young people, fans of our beloved team, who traveled to support our PAOK. I cry with the families and millions of our compatriots. May God bless them", he stated in a statement.
Savvidis lamentó el fallecimiento de los hinchas
"These children, PAOK's children, are our children, they are members of a large family. We do everything for our family and we do not leave anyone alone. My condolences are with their loved ones. I pray that everything turns out well for those who were injured and are fighting a crucial battle at this time", he concluded.
