The aircraft was participating in a fire fighting mission in the effort to put out a forest fire and because it was flying at a low altitude it hit on a tall tree and crashed.

Papanastasiou was the last to be arrested in connection to the 17N case in early January 2003, much later compared to the arrests of the rest of the defendants.

The extension that was given to his temporary detention was issued not based on a ruling but after an order issued by Court of Appeals prosecutor Giorgos Sanidas, who decided that the temporary detention should continue without further court procedures g iven the fact that the trial was in progress. Anestis Papanastasiou's release is due to take place sometime today.

The 17N trial will continue tomorrow with the testimony of defendant Thomas Serifis.

The visit takes place after the meetings the British General Consul had in Rhodes with representatives of local authorities regarding the incidents at the tourist region of Faliraki caused by young British tourists under the influence of alcohol.

A relevant request was made earlier to the Greek Police Headquarters by the British authorities and it was accepted.

These press reports, he added, are characteristic including ridiculous superstitions, while they are also ignorant of history and confuse the Greek with the Roman games which are a totally different thing.

Mr. Protopapas concluded by saying that the Olympic Games will be successful. He also said that the messages that will be sent out will underline the strong faith in men and the Olympic ideas.

The Organizing Committee conclusions on the test events were presented by "Athens 2004" President Mrs. Yianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki.

Mrs. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki mentioned that after the unfavorable picture of the first days, the overall picture is positive as well as the organizing dimension of the test events. She also stressed that the difficulties pointed out should be faced and ad ded that there are still 33 test events left and for this reason continuous preparation and vigilance are necessary.

Of the stocks trading today, 88 recorded gains and 240 had losses, while the value of 53 stocks remained unchanged.