We would love to see Zoe, again
Heroic f iref ighters who rescued tragic newlywed from Greek inferno want to be reunited with grieving burns victim
THE Irish Embassy in Athens has contacted the Greek fireman who rescued Irish honeymooner Zoe Holohan from a catastrophic forest fire and said they hope to reunite the pair.
Firefighter Manos Tsaliagos told the Irish Mail on Sunday that he would like to visit Ms Holohan, who lost her husband Brian O’CallaghanWestropp to a fire that killed at least 87 people last Monday.
And at 8pm on Friday, the Irish Embassy in Athens called Mr Tsaliagos to pass on his details to Ms Holohan’s family after he had called them earlier in the day.
He told the MoS the embassy now hopes he will be allowed a visit, or that Ms Holohan may eventually be able to visit him and the other firefighters at Rafina fire station, about 30 minutes’ drive from Athens.
A Greek official who works at the embassy confirmed that she spoke with Mr Tsaliagos and had passed on his details to Ms Holohan’s family.
Zoe, who is recovering in an Athens hospital, has burns to 17% of her body and will take several weeks to heal.
She was initially rescued by a Greek driver and his family who had picked up several people fleeing on foot. There were three adults in the front of the car and six children in the back so they only had room for Ms Holohan in the boot, which stayed open as they sped off. ‘Ash and burning debris was falling down on her, burning her skin,’ said Mr Tsaliagos.
The firefighter spotted her in the boot about a kilometre down the road at Kokkino Lamanaki harbour. He doused her with water because her dress was smouldering and took her in the fire truck to Rafina, rescuing a woman and her dog who were also trapped on the way.
Irini Chatzmathiou, a nurse at the firehouse, gave Ms Holohan first aid before she was taken by ambulance to an Athens hospital.
Firefighter Helen Antopoulou, who witnessed Ms Holohan’s badlyburned arms and body, yesterday said she would also love Ms Holohan to return to the fire station.
‘She has been through such tragedy, so soon into her marriage,’ she said. ‘We all feel a great connection to her and we are very, very happy she is recovering. The news every day from the fire is sad, with so many deaths, so maybe some day we will see her again to see some good news.’
A framed copy of an Irish Daily Mail article about Manos and Helen’s efforts to revive Ms Holohan now hangs in the fire station.
Ms Holohan and Mr O’CallaghanWestropp were married in Meath last week and went on honeymoon to Greece that weekend.
On Monday, tragedy struck when fire rolled down the hill from the main Athens to Marathon highway, trapping hundreds of people along the coast. The newlyweds tried to escape together but got separated near their hotel.
A police lieutenant said yesterday that his officers have identified over 30 of the 87 victims.
He said he hoped to officially identify Mr O’Callaghan-Westropp soon, having already requested a DNA sample from his relatives.
Mr O’Callaghan-Westropp’s former classmates have set up a GoFundME page to raise funds for his wife which had raised €4,705 as of last night. His funeral details have not yet been announced.
‘She has been through such tragedy so soon’