Five people from Greece who were helping others in need and three people from Libya who were part of a family, were killed in a car accident in the eastern part of Libya.
The helpers were part of a group that was going on a bus to the city of Derna, which had been badly affected by a flood. However, their bus crashed into a car that had the family inside.
According to a Libyan official, two people in the car and eight people on the bus were seriously hurt.
An investigation has started.
Othman Abdeljalil, who is in charge of healthcare in the eastern part of the country, said in a press conference that a group of people was traveling from Benghazi, a city in the east, when the accident occurred.
He said that four people died, but Greek officials said that five members of their aid team were killed.
The Greek army and foreign ministry are bringing back five people, including three officials and two translators, to Athens on Monday. This was announced by the Greek chiefs of staff, according to AFP news agency.
The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, described the accident as a very sad and unfortunate event.
“He said that everyone in the entire country is feeling very sad. ”
Libya is divided into two rival governments. One is supported by the United Nations and is located in the capital, Tripoli. The other is supported by Egypt and is based in Benghazi.
The Greek authorities say that a bus with medical workers crashed into a car going the other way.
They said it wasn’t clear what happened and they’re trying to figure it out with Libya’s help. They’re also bringing their people back.
A person who knows about diplomacy told a news site in Greece that 16 of the team members were rescue workers from Greece and three were translators.
They were going to meet up with teams from France and Italy that were already on the ground.
A lot of people died when two dams near Derna broke because of a big storm last week. The United Nations says that about 11,300 people have died.
More than 10,000 people are still officially considered missing, according to information from the UN’s Office for the Co-Ordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
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Greek rescuers murdered in car accident in Libya
