Greeks hold mass protests demanding justice after train tragedy


Protesters in Athens held up placards with numbers to remember the 57 who died

Greeks are holding their biggest protests for years and taking part in a general strike to mark the second anniversary of a rail disaster that left 57 dead and dozens more injured.

It was during the night of 28 February 2023 that a passenger train packed with students collided head-on with a goods train near the Tempi gorge in central Greece.

An inquiry concluded on Thursday that the accident was caused by human error, poor maintenance, and inadequate staffing.  The report by Greece's Air and Rail Accident Investigation Authority warned that the safety failings exposed by the crash had not yet been addressed. "Those children were killed because the train was not safe," said the authority's chief Christos Papadimitriou.

The Tempi disaster shocked Greeks with many accusing their conservative government of doing too little to shed light on the causes of the tragedy. There is a widely held belief that the government has sought to cover up the role of high-ranking officials.

The entire centre of Athens was crowded with people of all ages and all walks of life, with many saying they were attending a demonstration for the first time in their lives.  By early afternoon, tempers flared and clashes broke out with police. Petrol bombs were thrown and police used tear gas.

Rallies were being organised in 346 cities, across Greece in Thessaloniki, Ioannina, Patras and Larissa, as well as in cities across Europe, including Brussels, Rome and several cities in the UK.

The passenger service from Athens to Thessaloniki was crowded with students returning to university after a holiday for Greek Orthodox Lent when the train collided with a goods train on the same track outside Larisa.  Seconds afterwards a fireball almost completely destroyed the first two carriages of the train.

In Athens, protesters held placards reading "My child, call me when you arrive" and "No cover-up".  Dina Gazi, 62, held white balloons with the names of those who died in the accident. "I firmly believe that the government is covering up those responsible for the accident", she told BBC. "We demand that all the evidence come to light."

Shops in the centre had their shutters down, many with messages of sympathy and support in their windows, and ordinary people did not go to work.  Schools were closed, flights and trains cancelled, and the only public transport still operating was taking people to and from Syntagma Square.  Taxi drivers promised to take people to the protest without charge.

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The last time I saw Dimitra Kapetaniou was when my four-year-old labrador spotted her, pulled me towards her and jumped up on her for a big hug. She lived across the street with her parents and her dog, Freddie, and she graduated last June with a degree in pre-school education.

She was one of 57 confirmed victims in Greece's worst-ever rail disaster and like many of them she was a student.

This tragedy has shaken Greece. So many of the lives lost were young and it has unleashed a national outpouring of grief and outrage mostly directed against the country's ruling classes. Not for the first time, Greeks feel betrayed by their politicians.

A later report states that that "the train system was being worked manually" and also that a station master has been arrested.

Death toll now reported as 57.
There have been protests, some of them violent, about this accident and the perceived causes thereof.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64820085[url]]]https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-64820085[url][/url]

Two trains have collided. 32 lives lost according to early reports.
Viewing the scale of destruction, it seems likely that the death toll will increase.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-europe-64807384

Our thoughts are no doubt with the bereaved and injured.