Greek seismologist probed over April Fool’s volcano joke
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Professor Akis Tselentis posted a photo of himself on Facebook in a mock mugshot pose, holding a sign that read “guilty of April Fool’s joke”.
PHOTO: FACEBOOK/AKIS TSELENTIS
ATHENS – One of Greece’s top seismologists is under investigation over an April Fool’s joke warning that a huge “funnel” could open up under the popular tourist destination of Santorini island.
Professor Akis Tselentis, the director of Greece’s Institute of Geodynamics and its tsunami warning centre, on Wednesday posted on Facebook a photo of himself in a mock mugshot pose, holding a sign that read “guilty of April Fool’s joke”.
“We live in a country where humour is persecuted,” he added.
On Tuesday, a prosecutor ordered a preliminary investigation to determine whether Prof Tselentis’ April 1 posting qualified as spreading false news.
“Things are not well regarding Santorini,” Prof Tselentis had said.
“From January onwards we have a gradual disappearance of magma beneath the volcano,” the April Fool’s post said.
Prof Tselentis said there was a “major possibility” that magma would shift towards a fictional volcano, leaving a funnel vacuum that would “suck the waters of the Aegean”.
Santorini was completely reshaped by a volcanic eruption in the late 17th century BC that wiped out a culturally advanced Minoan colony, and geothermal activity accompanied by seismic tremors remains high to this day.
The last major eruption of the most active part of the volcano, beneath the uninhabited black lava islet of Kameni near Santorini, occurred in 1950. AFP
