The final sections of wreckage from a deadly train crash last week at Tempi in northern Greece were cleared by recovery crews on Monday.
Heavy construction machinery was used to move remaining parts of shattered rail cars at Tempi, where 57 people were killed in the February 28 crash. Twelve people remain hospitalised with injuries, five of them in serious condition.
According to Ekathimerini, one of the victims was identified on Monday as a 33-year-old man from Bangladesh, after his family came forward via a lawyer. Until now, it had not been possible to identify his body as there had been no comparative DNA sample.
The 33-year-old had been working in Greece for the last 10 years selling costume jewellery and had visited Athens for work when he was caught up in the train collision.
Greece seeks help from European Union:
Amid this deadly tragedy, the Greek government has requested assistance from other European governments to modernise safety procedures on the nation’s relatively limited rail network.
In a Twitter post on Monday, European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had spoken with Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis about how the bloc can provide support.
The EU leader said experts from the EU Agency for Railways would visit Greece this week to help.
“Rail safety is paramount,” von der Leyen said in her tweet.
Widespread protests held in Greece:
Anti-government protests erupted across Greece after the train crash, including a rolling strike by rail workers that has shut down the network.
According to Reuters, rail workers will be joined by government workers, teachers and students on Wednesday for a major day of protest.
On Monday, protesters placed empty chairs with red carnations outside the Greek Ministry of Transport, and held placards reading “Our lives matter” and “Murderers.”
Relatives of victim testify in court:
Family members of two people who died in the rail collision testified before the investigating Larissa prosecutor on Monday.
Earlier, a 59-year-old station manager was charged with negligent homicide and was jailed late Sunday pending trial.
This comes as the head of the Larissa Appeals Court Prosecutors’ office, Stamatis Daskalopoulos, on Monday officially requested that the Larissa Appeals Justices’ Council convene in full to decide on the appointment of an appellate-level examining magistrate to investigate the Tempi rail crash, due to the seriousness of the case.
Source: AP News, Reuters, Ekathimerini.
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