The funeral of 37-year-old Hellenic Air Force Captain Dimitris Petrou who was killed along with his co-pilot when their F-4E Phantom II fighter jet crashed during an air show north of Athens last week has been postponed, a local mayor said.
Petrou’s funeral was scheduled for Tuesday at noon in Ioannina, however authorities have not yet completed the identification process for the two bodies, according to local news site voria.gr.
The mayor of North Tzoumerka, Nikos Vaitsis, said in a post of Facebook on Monday that the change is due to “procedural issues” that have not been fully completed. “In these difficult times, our thoughts are with the family and his loved ones, who are experiencing the unbearable pain of loss,” the mayor said, adding that the new date and time will be announced by the family.
The funeral of the second pilot, Major Ioannis Blesias, 40, is scheduled for Wednesday, at Pyrgos, in the western Peloponnese.
The service is expected to be attended by Defense Minister Nikos Dendias, and the head of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA), General Dimitris Houpis.
