57 people died when a freight train and a passenger train full of students collided in February 2023.
Thousands of people have protested outside the Greek parliament in Athens to demand justice for the victims of the country's protests. worst railway disaster about two years ago.
Sunday's protests, one of the largest in the city in recent years, came days after local media reported that some of the 57 people involved in the crash may have survived the crash but died in an undisclosed fire. for an hour after the accident.
Demonstrations also took place in many other cities in Greece and abroad, and participants gathered under the slogan “I have no oxygen,” which echoed the last words of a woman calling for emergency services.
Attendees in Athens held signs reading “We will never forget” as chants of “Killer, Kill” echoed around Syntagma Square.
An investigation is still underway into the collision between a cargo train and a passenger train full of students near Tempe, outside the city 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, seen as the result of widespread neglect of the railways after a decade of economic crisis.
Two years later, the cause of death of many of the victims remains unknown as their families accuse the authorities of trying to cover up evidence.
“Thank you very much to all Greeks, wherever they are, for their support,” Maria Karystianou – representative of the Tempe Victims' Families Association, who lost her 20-year-old daughter in the tragedy – told reporters.
“Our words say one thing: no crime will go unpunished,” he said. “Crime in Tempe should be the starting point and justice should be served, as it should be, because that's what the whole community wants.”
The cause of the fire is unknown
Ilias Papangelis, whose 18-year-old daughter died 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 the report of the experts employed by the family, the accident caused a large fire. It is unclear what caused it.
A growing number of experts are disputing the theory that electrical cables or fuel used on the passenger train were the cause of the fire, raising questions about the ship's cargo.
The centre-right government, which was re-elected after the crash, has denied the allegations.
Former parliament speaker Constantine Tassoulas' bid to become Greece's president last week also angered family members, who say under his watch the parliament failed to investigate any political positions.
“We don't know what caused the explosion, and what the (cargo) train was carrying,” said Nikos Plakias, who lost his two daughters and a grandson in the crash.
“We will always have questions … and if we want to reach the European courts, we will,” he added.
A brief standoff broke out between riot police and a number of demonstrators after a peaceful demonstration in Athens, where police fired tear gas to disperse some of the crowd.
