Tuesday, February 28, 2023 will go down as the darkest day in the history of the OSE. The fifty-seven dead in the head-on collision of the two commercial and passenger trains “ask” for justice. The relatives of the victims and the dozens of injured are waiting for the exemplary punishment of the culprits.
The video – document from the scene of the “crime” recorded by a passenger, a few minutes after the head-on collision, is shocking.
The Plenary Assembly of Appeals of Larisa has appointed Appellants – Investigators, who are taking over the investigations into the fatal train tragedy and it is expected that the investigation will be opened and other high-ranking persons will also speak.
The station master responsible for the tragedy of Larissa has already been remanded in custody and three other persons have been prosecuted. To his inspector and the two station masters of the previous shift, who left their posts earlier, during duty. In fact, one of them did not hesitate immediately after the tragedy to change the time of delivery and pick-up with a correction in the stationmasters’ book…
The “binge” of fifteen years will be investigated…
A sensation was caused by the loud intervention of the Independent Authority for Money Laundering, for what took place in the railway system of Greece in the last fifteen years, on the occasion of the revelations after the fatal collision. The property status of those involved in contracts for the rail network will be checked. Persons in critical positions, even in politics, but also the contractors who undertook the execution of the projects.
Chills from the audio documents of the station master…
The audio documents brought to light by “Proto Thema” from the station master’s conversations with the traffic controller of Athens and with the station master of New Resources, are shocking and chilling.
It seems that they did not understand the magnitude of the tragedy. Characteristically, the station master calls the fatal collision a “crash”! No one asks about passengers, about souls… The traffic controller keeps asking him if train 62 left the updraft correctly, with him constantly answering in the affirmative, but lying, since the train left on the downdraft.
In the first quarter after the crash, they themselves have no idea what has happened and are looking to find out what caused the power outage.
Half an hour before the tragedy, he literally avoided another one with the suburban train full of passengers, after the station master made the same mistake… Confused, he does not answer the persistent questions of the train driver, who realized the mistake in time. See the document presented by MEGA.
Rage of the people…
All of Greece is asking for answers and accountability for the tragic accident in Tempi.
Thousands of people with the slogan “it was the wrong time”, took to the streets, from one end of Greece to the other, protesting the lack of safety measures on the railways.
Similar rallies will be held in many cities of the country on Sunday, March 12.
The Government’s promises for changes…
The Minister of State and Transport-Infrastructure, Giorgos Gerapetritis, in an interview, pledged that by the end of March we will have the restart of the railway with enhanced security guarantees. He talked about placing two station masters at each station. Among other things, he emphasized:
- Staff will be upgraded, recruitment and further training will be carried out, while the staff training framework will be re-evaluated.
- A provision will be tabled that will provide a stricter framework for sabotage, theft and damage to the network.
- There will be cooperation with an echelon mission from Germany for further investigation and submission of security proposals.
- The establishment of the national air and rail accident investigation agency will be launched.
Support measures…
The families of the victims of the accident in Tempe or those who were on board the fatal train, can call 24 hours and anonymously to the Telephone Line of Psychological Support 10306.
The Ministry of Health created a network of Mental Health clinics and units throughout the country, with twenty psychological support units.
The Ministries of Finance, Education, Labour, Health, Justice and Interior proceeded with the joint announcement and other support measures for the families of the victims of the tragedy in Tempi.
They announced eleven measures for the families, mainly the payment of a special pension to relatives of the victims, relief from loan obligations, giving points to children who will compete in the nationwide exams and a series of other interventions.
A moving musical farewell…
The students from the Katerinis Music School, as a sign of honor in memory of the fallen victims, formed the word “Have you arrived?” with school bags. In collaboration with their teachers, they recorded the track “In the Valley of Tempes”, with lyrics and music by Thanasis Papakonstantinou.
Children typically say:
“We want to show the tragedy that happened in Tempe. The date it happened. Let this not be forgotten, so that the rest of the generations learn from the mistakes of the previous ones…”
Read details about the case here.
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