Europe

Greece train crash: Station master’s court appearance delayed

Rescuers to wrap up search operation in country’s worst rail disaster

Part of a destroyed train carriage is removed from the site of the collision in northern Greece on Friday. Photograph: Angelos Tzortzinis/The New York Times

Angeliki Koutantou
Renee Maltezou
Sat Mar 4 2023 - 22:16

Rescuers are continuing to dig through debris at the site of the country’s worst train crash but are expected to wrap up their search operation on Saturday.

Tuesday's crash killed at least 57 people and injured dozens when a passenger train with more than 350 people on board careered into a freight train on the same track.

The disaster in central Greece has triggered an outpouring of anger and protests across the country, as well as a sharp focus on safety standards across its railway system.

The station master (59) of the nearby city of Larissa, who was arrested over the country’s deadliest train crash, will appear before a prosecutor and an examining magistrate on Sunday after his deposition was postponed on Saturday.

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He is accused of placing two trains running in opposite directions on the same track and will respond to felony charges of disrupting transport and putting lives at risk.

The government has blamed the crash on human error but railway workers’ unions say it was inevitable because of deficient safety systems and understaffing.

The train, travelling from Athens to the northern city of Thessaloniki, was packed with students returning after a long holiday weekend.

Police said 54 bodies out of 56 people reported missing by relatives had so far been identified – almost all from DNA tests as the crash was so violent. A 57th body has not been identified as no one has appeared to give a DNA sample.

Bereaved families have vowed to seek justice.

“It is a very difficult situation,” a relative said on Greece’s Skai radio. “We will see how we will move [legally], we won’t let anything go, the families’ demand is that they don’t get away with it.”

Railway workers union have staged 24-hour walkouts since Wednesday. They extended labour action by 48 hours on Friday, demanding a clear timetable by the government for the implementation of safety protocols.

On Friday police and protesters clashed after 2,000 students marched through Athens, blocking the road in front of parliament for a moment of silence. Students also demonstrated in Larissa and Thessaloniki. – Reuters

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