The train accident that took place yesterday in Tempe it was the third and deadliest case in the past 60 years. 55 years ago, one day after the dictatorship’s referendum on the Greek constitution, in September 30, 1968 ran into Derveni two trains with thousands of voters return to Athens after the end of the process. Total: 34 dead and 150 wounded.

Just four years later, on January 16, 1972, Doxaras, Larissa two trains collided head-on. Total: 21 dead and dozens of wounded. In both cases, as everything in this latest tragedy shows, the human factor was decisive. Someone was not noticed, someone was taken away for a short time, someone was not paid attention …

In Derveni’s case, two trains departed from Patras with a departure time difference of one hour and ten minutes. Both carried a large number of passengers, according to reports published in the newspapers of the time, people were even in the toilets. “Who allowed this fatal train to derail not only in an unacceptable way, but also in a criminal way? Why were so many hundreds of tickets issued?” a Peloponnis journalist asks on October 2, while the list of dead and hospitalized is growing.

Apparently, at some point the first train stopped abruptly when one of the passengers turned on the alarm. The “woman” who could not keep her balance in the crowd, according to the newspaper. Sailor, in other words. The victim, whom journalists found in the hospital, said that it was because of him that the train stopped. “He had stomach pains when he was on the train and immediately passed out.” Who raised the alarm so that the patient was given first aid is not entirely clear. A few minutes later, however, a second train crashed into the station, crushing its last car and knocking over three others. Some jumped out of the train at the last minute when they saw another train approaching at full speed. Some were also lucky because they took advantage of the short stop and got off the train to pick lemons! Did the driver of the stopped train give a warning signal? And if so, why didn’t the other driver see it?

The accident at Doxaras involved a head-on collision between two trains. One train left Thessaloniki at 13:30 for Athens, and another train with several transfers left Piraeus at 9:30 in the morning for Thessaloniki. The safe crossing of two trains that were practically traveling towards each other became a point of contention among OSE officials at the time. Usually priority was given to the high-speed train from Thessaloniki, but the head of the Orfanon station ordered another train to move as well. They wrote that because of this, the drivers heard a fight on the radio and did not see the train coming towards them. They didn’t even slow down for the head-on collision, which was extremely violent.