Vandalism at Evaggelismos Hospital: Air Conditioning Sabotage

The news in Greek

1. σαμποτάζ  (n.)
   Σκόπιμη ενέργεια καταστροφής ή παρεμπόδισης λειτουργίας. ↩︎
2. κλιματισμός  (m.)
   Η διεργασία ελέγχου και ρύθμισης της θερμοκρασίας και υγρασίας του αέρα. ↩︎
3. κρίσιμος
   Σημαντικό ή καθοριστικό για μία κατάσταση. ↩︎
4. καύσωνας  (m.)
   Μεγάλη άνοδος της θερμοκρασίας, ιδιαίτερα το καλοκαίρι. ↩︎
5. πλησιάζω
   Έρχομαι πιο κοντά σε κάτι ή κάποιον. ↩︎
6. ασφάλεια  (f.)
   Προστασία από κινδύνους ή απειλές. ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: What kind of sabotage happened at Evangelismos Hospital?

Question 2: What is the police doing about the incident at the hospital?

Vocabulary

Greek	English
σαμποτάζ  (n.)	sabotage
κλιματισμός  (m.)	air conditioning
κρίσιμος	critical
καύσωνας  (m.)	heatwave
πλησιάζω	approach
ασφάλεια  (f.)	safety

Read the full story

A significant act of sabotage was reported at the “Patéras” building of the Evaggelismos Hospital in Athens, Greece, leading to the disruption of air conditioning systems across approximately half of the facility. This comes at a critical time as Greece braces for rising temperatures.

The incident involves the cutting of air conditioning cables both at the control panel and on the rooftop installations, leaving critical patient care areas without cooling. The hospital administration has responded by filing a lawsuit against unidentified perpetrators and initiating an investigation alongside law enforcement. It is believed the individuals responsible had intricate knowledge of the hospital’s layout, suggesting a deliberate and premeditated action.

The Health Minister, Adonis Georgiadis, shared images of the damage on social media, which highlight the extensive vandalism. In his posts, he expressed frustration over the incident occurring amid an impending heatwave and emphasized the urgency of repair efforts, assuring that the systems would be functional within 48 hours. Meanwhile, he also called for the authorities to identify and apprehend those responsible.

Sources indicate that the last technical assessment of the systems was conducted in October of the previous year. However, surveillance footage, which could potentially aid the investigation, is only retained for a limited period. This constrains the investigation as it attempts to assess who might have had unhindered access to critical areas of the hospital without leaving a trace.

Amid multiple theories, another possibility under consideration by the authorities is that the damage could have stemmed from errors during recent maintenance work on the hospital’s roof.

The newly renovated eighth floor of the “Ioannis Diamantis Patéras” building – recently reinaugurated with financial contributions from shipping magnate Nikolaos Patéras and the Ministry of Health – is among the affected areas. This incident has raised urgent concerns over hospital security and operational integrity, as well as patient safety during peak summer conditions.

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