Superyacht’s Fireworks Allegedly Sparked Blaze on Bezos Vacation Island

Crew members of a superyacht have been accused of starting a devastating forest fire on the Greek island of Hydra after allegedly launching fireworks from their vessel last week to entertain their guests, according to reports.

The blaze erupted on Friday night and raged into the following day, with a Greek official saying scenic woodlands were destroyed in the inferno. The 13 crew and passengers of the vessel appeared in the criminal court in Piraeus on Sunday on charges related to the fire in the island’s only pine forest.

The Persefoni I, a lavish 176-foot vessel which charters for around $320,000 a week in the summer months, was chartered by 17 people from Kazakhstan, according to local reports. The nationalities of the crew members are not clear. If convicted, they could face large fines and prison sentences of up to 20 years, according to Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper.

Read more at The Daily Beast.