A railway inspector and two more stationmasters have been charged in connection with Greece’s deadliest train crash at Tempi last week that killed 57 people and injured dozens.
The stationmasters had allegedly ended their work shifts early on the night of the incident, despite traffic being unusually heavy after Greece’s Carnival celebrations. The supervisor has been accused of placing an inexperienced stationmaster on duty at the time of the crash.
According to Ekathimerini, all three are being charged with endangering transport safety and multiple counts of negligent homicide and bodily harm.
Similar charges were levelled on Sunday against the stationmaster who stands accused of making the fatal point switch that saw the passenger train and freight train put on the same track at Tempi.
News of the indictments filtered through as the Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, held his first cabinet meeting since a period of national mourning.
During the meeting, Mitsotakis promised “absolute transparency” as the inquiry into the tragedy intensified and apologised again for the train crash.
“I want to reiterate a public apology on behalf of those who ruled the country over the years, and mainly personally,” Mitsotakis said during the meeting. “I assume responsibility.”
He said that more than 270 million euros would be invested in railway reform by the end of August.
The crash has stirred protests against a political system which has repeatedly ignored calls by railway unions and EU officials to install digital safety systems and hire more staff.
On Wednesday, tens of thousands rallied outside Parliament in Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and other cities across Greece in the largest street demonstrations the conservative government has faced since being elected in 2019.
General elections that had been expected to take place in April have, in the face of the uproar, been rescheduled for May.
Source: The Guardian and Ekathimerini.
