The station master who was on duty when at least 46 people died in a train accident on Tuesday, according to Greece’s government, admits to having made mistakes that led to the tragedy.
1 out of 9Photo: Vaggelis Kousioras / AP / NTB
– I believe that the responsibility, the negligence and the mistake have been acknowledged by the station manager, says Yiannis Economou, spokesperson for the Greek government.
The collision occurred on Tuesday evening outside the city of Larissa, approximately 380 kilometers north of Athens. It was a passenger train and a freight train that collided head-on. At least three train carriages caught fire after the huge collision.
The cause of the accident is not known, but the station master in the city of Larissa has been arrested. He is charged with negligent homicide and faces a life sentence if convicted. The man will be produced for imprisonment on Thursday.
Cleaning takes time
The train accident is the worst in the country since 1972. Over 50 people have been hospitalized.
Rescuers are still searching for remains in the burning wreckage. On Thursday, they cut through the broken panel of one of the train carriages.
Yiannis Artopios, the fire service’s spokesperson, says that the work takes time and is progressing “centimeter by centimeter”.
– We can see more people in there. Unfortunately, they are a very bad constitution, he says to state television.
– Managed to keep calm
More than 300 were on board the passenger train, many of them students on their way home from holidays or carnival celebrations around Greece. One of them was 20-year-old Andreas Alikaniotis.
He and several fellow students survived the crash and fire by breaking windows and throwing luggage onto the ground outside to cushion their fall as they jumped.
– It was a steep fall into a ditch. The light in the train went out, and there was light from the approaching fire. The sparks flew. I managed to stay calm and I was one of the few who was not seriously injured, Alikaniotis told reporters from his hospital bed in Larissa.
Strong criticism
The Greek Union of Railway Workers staged a 24-hour strike on Thursday as a result of the accident. The strike led to major delays for the train and subway service in Athens.
The railway workers believe that the authorities have for years underfunded the railway network and left it in a dangerous state.
The government has received strong criticism after the accident, and on Wednesday the country’s transport minister resigned.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the accident an “indescribable tragedy” when he visited the site on Wednesday. He promised that the cause of the accident would be investigated.
