Greek protests erupt over government's role in train disaster
Approximately 300,000 people gathered in downtown Athens on Friday to mark the second anniversary of the train disaster that killed 57 people, according to Greek police.
Protesters threw Molotov cocktails onto the parliament grounds and set a sentry box on fire.
Massive protest in Athens
"I have no oxygen" — chanted the crowd.
When Molotov cocktails were thrown onto the parliament grounds, several people fainted from stress.
Due to the anniversary of the disaster in Greece, a general strike was announced on Friday. Among the protesters were many students and pupils.
Riots broke out after the protests. Police used tear gas and stun grenades. Officers were attacked by people with covered faces. The situation in downtown Athens is tense.
A report released Thursday indicates that system errors and oversights led to the country's worst train disaster in history two years ago.
Vote of no confidence in the government
The leader of the socialist PASOK party, Nikos Andrulakis, stated that the conservative New Democracy government is responsible for the disaster that killed 57 people and seriously injured 88 others.
He added that "criminal oversights" also contributed to the tragedy, reports the eKathimerini portal.
For this reason, I will immediately initiate a vote of no confidence against the government, the politician informed.
On Thursday morning in Athens, the National Commission on Air and Rail Accident's report on the February 28, 2023, disaster in Tempi, central Greece, was presented. The passenger train, carrying many students, collided with a freight train coming from the opposite direction.
The report indicates that important evidence was lost at the scene due to improper actions taken after the incident. "What happened — the destruction of evidence within three days — must never happen again," said Kostas Kapetanidis, who leads the Commission's investigative team, which only began work in March of last year.
According to investigators, the accident was caused, among other factors, by systematic neglect, human error, inadequate supervision, chaotic procedures, and lack of coordination. There is also a belief that an unspecified substance may have contributed to the explosion and fire that occurred after the collision. There are numerous speculations about the type of cargo being transported by the freight train. Most victims died as a result of the train collision, with several perishing in the ensuing fire.
The direct cause, according to experts, was a sequence of events leading to an inadequately trained stationmaster at Larisa railway station, which was understaffed, accidentally directing the passenger train onto the same track as the oncoming freight train.
The legal proceedings regarding the tragedy are expected to conclude this year.
