People in Thessaloniki protest to demand justice for victims of deadly train disaster
n Greece, hundreds of people took to the streets again in response to the serious train accident that left at least 57 dead. Protesters gathered for events in Athens and Thessaloniki that were largely quiet.
In Greece, hundreds of people took to the streets again in response to the serious train accident that left at least 57 dead. Demonstrators gathered for protest events in Athens and Thessaloniki on Saturday that were largely quiet. Later on Sunday, the Larisa station master accused of the accident is expected to appear in court on Sunday, while a large protest by students and railway workers is planned in Syntagma Square in Athens, near the Greek Parliament.
The first victims of the accident were buried on Saturday. Relatives of the dead are expected on Sunday to attend a commemoration in front of the Larisa train station near the scene of the accident in central Greece.
On the route between Athens and the port city of Thessaloniki, a passenger train and an oncoming freight train collided head-on shortly before midnight on Tuesday evening.
The responsible station master admitted that he had failed to divert the trains. According to a report by public broadcaster ERT, the man only held the post 40 days after completing three months of training.
According to the daily newspaper “Kathimerini”, he apparently worked alone at the station for four days before the accident, although it was a holiday weekend with heavy train traffic. Judicial sources said investigators are also considering criminal charges against members of the management of the Hellenic Train railway company. As the AFP news agency learned from judicial circles, the police confiscated audio files and other material during a raid on the Larisa train station.
Meanwhile, Hellenic Train has denied allegations that it abandoned the victims’ families. The Hellenic Train staff was “at the scene of the accident from the first moment” and worked together with the authorities, civil defense and rescue workers, according to a statement published on Saturday evening.
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