Greece’s shipping minister resigns a week after a passenger pushed off a ferry ramp drowns

Greece’s shipping minister has resigned over the death of a man who was pushed off a ferry ramp by a crew member after arriving late. Political opponents had accused Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Miltiadis Varvitsiotis of initially downplaying the fatal Sept. 5 encounter. Amateur video showed the passenger running onto the ferry’s loading ramp as the ship was about to leave. He tried to push past two crew members and was stopped, and then was pushed off when he tried again. A Greek prosecutor brought criminal charges against the captain of the island ferry and three crew members over the drowning of 36-year-old Andonis Kargiotis.