Investigation Underway After Grandfather Collects Wrong Child from Nursery in Greece

Authorities in Greece have launched an investigation into a serious incident at a nursery in Cholargos, in Athens, where a 64-year-old grandfather mistakenly collected the wrong child.

The Municipality of Papagos-Cholargos has ordered an immediate inquiry to determine whether the nursery followed proper procedures for releasing children, describing the situation as "extremely serious."

The mix-up occurred on Tuesday afternoon when the grandfather, apparently unaware of the mistake, left the nursery with a child who was not his grandchild. He only realised the error after arriving home and immediately contacted the nursery to report what had happened.

Adding to the concern, the nursery staff also failed to notice the mistake at the time of the handover. Police were notified, as was the mother of the 19-month-old child who had been mistakenly taken. Both the grandfather and the nursery teacher responsible for the incident were subsequently detained by police.

The child’s mother later criticised the nursery for its handling of the situation, claiming she was not informed of the incident. "We went there to pick up [our child], and it wasn’t there. In the end, it was the father of the other child who returned [our child], not the grandfather who had made the mistake," she told local media.

The municipality has pledged to gather all necessary evidence to hold those responsible to account and to prevent a recurrence of such incidents.