Athens Games chief in hot water over fireworks

ATHENS (Reuters) - Olympics Games chief Gianna Angelopoulos could be sued and also faces a Greek prosecutor's investigation after her fireworks party for foreign dignitaries sparked off a fire in a nearby park.


The mayor of the posh Filothei district has filed a suit against anyone responsible for Saturday's blaze and prosecutor Spyros Mouzakitis has launched an investigation into whether all precautions had been taken for the fireworks display, the semi-official Athens News Agency reported on Monday.


Greek newspapers had a field day with the fire that threatened homes and razed one hectare of pine trees before it was controlled by firefighters. The fire brigade issued a statement blaming Angelopoulos's fireworks.


"Gianna lit a second Olympic torch," read a front page headline in the Eleftherotypia daily.


The daily Ta Nea said the guests at "Gianna's hot party", including Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis, were shocked to see the pine trees in a nearby woods catch fire.


"Let's not burn ancient Olympia ... just because the ruling class is possessed by this uncontrollable euphoria, if not vanity," wrote Eleftherotypia commentator Giorgos Marnellos.


Government spokesman Thodoris Roussopoulos was bombarded with questions during his daily press briefing on Monday.


Over the weekend, Angelopoulos was congratulated for a flawless Games opening ceremony on Friday.


She is widely credited with ensuring the city was ready to stage the Olympics after early planning problems following its bid win in 1997.