In Greece, there has been widespread outrage over the collision between freight trains and passenger trains.
Before a major rally of students and rail workers in Athens, the Greek prime minister asked the families of the 57 people killed in the country’s worst rail accident for forgiveness on Sunday.
In a message to the nation, Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote, “As prime minister, I owe it to everyone, but especially to the victims’ relatives, (to ask for) forgiveness.”
In Greece, there has been widespread outrage over the collision between freight trains and passenger trains.
Mitsotakis wrote in a Facebook message, “For Greece of 2023, two trains going in different directions cannot run on the same line and no one notices.”
A memorial service for the victims of the tragic train crash on Tuesday was also planned for Sunday outside Larissa station in central Greece, near the accident site.
The disaster-related station master was scheduled to appear in court on Sunday, but the hearing was postponed from the previous day. There, he could be accused of negligent homicide.
Late on Saturday, the rail company that has become the focus of some of the outrage following the crash, Hellenic Train, issued a statement defending its actions.
During the week, hundreds of people demonstrated outside their Athens headquarters. According to a legal source, investigators are looking into the possibility of charging senior company employees.
Rail union officials have insisted that they alerted the company to the dangers on the line over the past few days. In addition, the government’s inability to implement rail safety reforms is the subject of serious inquiries.
Grief and resentment The tragedy caused by the collision of a freight train and a passenger train has evoked a mix of grief and resentment in Greece’s demonstrations and vigils.
The Athens demonstration on Sunday will take place in Syntagma Square, next to the parliament, which was the site of clashes between angry protesters and police on Friday night.
In honor of the accident victims, many of whom were returning students from a weekend break, candlelit marches and ceremonies have been held.
Sophia Hatzopoulou, 23, a philosophy student in Thessaloniki, stated, “What happened was not an accident, it was a crime.”
“We can’t observe this occur and stay apathetic.”
On the passenger train, at least nine young people studying at Thessaloniki’s Aristotle University perished.
‘New components’ on the off chance that
The station ace at Larissa, whose character has not been disclosed, has conceded liability regarding the mishap, which occurred after the two trains ran along similar track for a few kilometers.
If convicted, the 59-year-old man faces life in prison if he is charged with negligent homicide.
However, his attorney, Stefanos Pantzartsidis, maintained Saturday: There are significant new aspects of the case that require investigation.
Greek media have reported on the station master’s relative lack of experience and the fact that he was unsupervised over a busy holiday weekend.
Safety warnings Hellenic Train said in a statement late on Saturday that “These are particularly difficult days for the country and for our company” and that it had lost nine of its own employees in the crash.
The company added that its employees arrived at the disaster site quickly and have continued to collaborate closely with rescue teams and the authorities ever since.
The head of the train drivers’ union, OSE, Kostas Genidounias, claims that the union had already alerted the authorities to safety issues on the line where the accident occurred.
Additionally, just three weeks ago, union leaders at Hellenic Train raised the issue.
They stated at the time, “We are not going to wait for the accident to happen to see those responsible shed crocodile tears.”
