TEMPI TRAIN ACCIDENT

Elina Nam

https://www ualrpublicradio org/npr-news/2023-03-03/a-greek-train-driver-was-told-toignore-a-red-light-before-a-head-on-crash-killed-57

"I wasn't hurt, but I was stained with blood from other people who were injured near me" - Lazos, a survivor. (BBC)

On the night of February 28, 2023, two trains, going in opposite directions, sped toward each other on the same track. One, a passenger train, held 342 passengers and 10 crew members

The collision was inevitable. The Tempi train crash, an accident between a passenger train from Athens and a shipping train from Thessaloniki, led to one of the deadliest recorded rail accidents in Greek History.

The following includes details of the collision: The crash itself occurred near the city of Larissa, Greece, in the municipality of Tempi BBC reports that the accident caused the first two carriages of the passenger train to derail before they burst into almost immediate flames. Although authorities were alerted just before midnight, casualties could not be averted. Some bodies were so unrecognizably charred that they had to be identified by DNA samples and body parts. To add to the tragedy, many of these passengers were university students in their 20s, returning from a long weekend break.

As of present, 57 are confirmed dead, while 85 are injured https://greekherald com au/news/over-60000-people-attend-protests-in-greece-after-deadlytrain-crash/

The exact causes of the accident are yet unknown - although the Larissan train conductor in charge of rail traffic was fired and is on trial, many civilians criticized the irresponsibility of the Greek rail system and the absence of a backup mechanism to rely on when human error occurs. Yiannis Ditsas, head of the railway workers union, also stated that the automatic signaling at the crash site was malfunctioning. It was later revealed that the government had always been aware of the potential dangers and shortcomings of the AthensThessaloniki line of the railway system - further fueling civilian outrage. But this incident was far from over. A few weeks later, on March 16, 2023, thousands of Greek citizens took part in a national strike, condemning the government and its role in the Tempi train accident. Many participated in rigorous protests, and railway workers nationwide have quit their jobs, demanding that the government take action against rail safety hazards. Protestors claimed that negligence and privatization from rail authorities and the government were to blame for the accident.

Although the government has not yet taken extensive action, the words of their protests still ring loud: “We will be the voice of the dead”.