Tens of thousands of Greeks seek justice for Tempe train crash victims | News

In February 2023, 57 people were killed as a result of a collision between a freight train and a passenger train full of students.

Tens of thousands of protesters protested in front of the parliament building in Athens, the capital of Greece, demanding justice for the dead. worst railway tragedy ever about two years ago.

Sunday’s demonstration, one of the largest in the capital in recent years, came days after local media released a recording suggesting some of the 57 victims may have survived the collision but died in a fire of still unknown origin. more than an hour after the accident.

Protests were held in dozens of other cities in Greece and abroad, with participants chanting “I have no oxygen,” echoing the last words of a woman calling for emergency services.

Protesters in Athens held placards reading “We will not forget,” chants of “Murderers, murderers” echoed in Syntagma Square.

An investigation into the collision between a freight train and a passenger train full of students on February 28, 2023, near Tempe, outside Larissa, is still ongoing.

The accident on the line connecting Athens to Greece’s second-largest city, Thessaloniki, sparked angry protests across the country, seen as the result of widespread neglect of the railways after a decade of financial crisis.

Two years later, the cause of death for many of the victims remains undetermined as their families accuse authorities of trying to cover up the evidence.

“Thank you very much to all Greeks, wherever they are,” Maria Karystianou, a representative of the Association of Families of Tempe Victims, who lost her 20-year-old daughter in the disaster, told reporters.

“Our voice says one thing: no crime will go unpunished,” he said. “Let the crime in Tempe begin and let justice be served as it should be, because that’s what the entire community wants.”

The cause of the fire is unknown

Ilias Papangelis, who lost his 18-year-old daughter in the accident, told the crowd in Athens: “Two years after the tragedy, no one has been punished, no one is in prison.”

According to a report by experts hired by the families, the crash caused a huge fireball. It is unclear what caused this.

A growing number of experts are rejecting speculation that electrical cables or oil used on passenger trains caused the fire, raising questions about the freight train’s load.

The center-right government, which was re-elected after the accident, denied the accusations.

Former parliament speaker Constantine Tasoulas’ bid for the Greek presidency has further angered those close to him, who say the parliament under his watch has failed to investigate any political accountability.

“We don’t know what caused the explosion, what the (freight) train was carrying,” said Nikos Plakias, who lost two daughters and a niece in the crash.

“We will always have questions … and if we need to go to the European courts, we will,” he said.

A peaceful demonstration in Athens was followed by brief clashes between riot police and a number of protesters, with police officers using tear gas to disperse the crowd.