Tens of thousands of Greeks demand justice for the victims of the train accident in Tempe | News

Fifty-seven people died when a freight train and a passenger train loaded with students collided in February 2023.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside the Greek parliament in Athens demanding justice for the country’s victims the worst train accident almost two years ago.

Sunday’s protests, some of the largest in the capital in recent years, came days after local media released an audio recording suggesting some of the 57 victims may have survived the crash but died in a fire of unknown origin that burned more than an hour after accidents.

Protests were also held in dozens of other cities in Greece and abroad, with participants rallying under the slogan “I have no oxygen,” echoing one woman’s last words in a call to emergency services.

Participants in Athens held banners reading “We will not forget” as chants of “Murderers, murderers” echoed through Syntagma Square.

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

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

Two years later, the cause of death of many of the victims has not been determined as their families have accused authorities of trying to cover up evidence.

“Many thanks to all Greeks, wherever they are, for their support,” Maria Karystianou, representative of the Tempe Victims’ Association, who lost her 20-year-old daughter in the disaster, told reporters.

“Our voice says one thing: no crime will go unpunished, never again,” she said. “Let the crime in Tempe be the beginning and justice will be served, as it should be, because that’s what the whole society wants.”

The cause of the fire is unclear

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 fall resulted in a huge fireball. It is unclear what caused it.

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

The center-right government, which was re-elected after the fall, has denied the allegations.

Last week’s nomination of former parliament speaker Constantine Tassoulas for Greek president further angered relatives, who say that under his watch, parliament has not investigated any political accountability.

“We don’t know what caused the explosion, what [freight] the train was driving,” said Nikos Plakias, who lost two daughters and a niece in the accident.

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

Brief clashes broke out between riot police and scores of protesters after the largely peaceful protests in Athens, with officers firing tear gas to disperse some in the crowd.