Minoa Pediadas: 85-year-old found dead in a rural area

An 85-year-old man was found dead on the morning of Tuesday 18 August at a rural location at Amourgelles in the Municipality of Minoa Pediadas, in the Regional Unit of Heraklion. According to a report in the newspaper Nea Kriti, the elderly man was found unconscious by his son, next to a three-wheeled agricultural vehicle. The machine, as reported, had earlier struck an olive tree. An ambulance was rushed to the scene and the paramedics confirmed the man’s death. The exact causes and the circumstances in which the incident occurred are being investigated by the competent authorities, which have made no announcements.

In such cases, the investigation as a rule focuses on whether a sudden medical episode preceded the loss of control of the vehicle or whether the death was caused by injury during the impact. The answer is given by the forensic examination, which is ordered by the competent prosecutor and determines the cause and time of death. At the same time the condition of the machine and the morphology of the ground are examined, since three-wheeled agricultural vehicles often travel on sloping dirt tracks and without a protective roll-over frame. Until the procedure is completed no responsibility is attributed to anyone. The preliminary inquiry also includes an on-site inspection and a record of the traces, so that the sequence of events before the impact can be reconstructed.

Fatal accidents involving agricultural machinery are a recurring issue in the Cretan countryside, particularly in areas with extensive olive cultivation such as Pediada. The work is often done by elderly producers working alone in remote fields, with no immediate possibility of help in the event of an accident, while mobile phone coverage is not always adequate. The Municipality of Minoa Pediadas extends across the eastern part of the prefecture of Heraklion and includes dozens of rural settlements, with the area’s economy based mainly on olive growing and viticulture. Amourgelles lies in a rural area of olive groves, where journeys are made mainly with small-engine agricultural vehicles.

It has not been announced whether a post-mortem examination was ordered or whether a case file was opened, details that usually become known after the preliminary inquiry has been completed. The identity of the deceased is not being made public, since he was a private individual and the incident is not connected with the exercise of any public office. Nor has it become known whether the three-wheeler was licensed or whether it carried the prescribed safety equipment. The competent services recall every summer the importance of protective measures during agricultural work, especially in conditions of high temperatures that put a strain on the body and increase the risk of an accident. The ambulance service covers the wider area from its Heraklion base, with response times to remote settlements as a rule longer than in the city.