Since the evening of Tuesday, February 28, an unprecedented tragedy has been unfolding in the country. At 23:21 two trains, one passenger and one commercial, encountered in Tempecausing an event of untold pain.

The authorities waged a titanic struggle for the liberation of the invaders, but the conflict was fierce, the destruction was enormous. The latest figures put the death toll at 42. The funeral of the dead will be held at public expense, and a three-day national mourning has been declared.

Sta Hospitals of Larissa and Thessaloniki scenes of madness unfolded as people frantically searched for their missing relatives. There were many who gave DNA sample to identify burnt corpses.

By Wednesday evening, starting from 72 hospitalized passengers, 15 were discharged while 57 passengers remained for treatment. Six are in intensive care.

What did the stationmaster say in his apology?

According to Mr. head of station Larissa made a full confession.

The detainee not only admitted that he had put the fatal train on the wrong track, but also added that he realized the criminal mistake as soon as he was informed of the tragic incident. Then, as he said apologetically, he realized the consequences of what he had done by sending the passenger train down the wrong tracks.

Horror at the crash site

The moments experienced by the rescuers were shocking: “When we arrived, we saw how the ambulance officers were carrying the victims. What we faced is not said. Bombed landscape “described G. Xanthopoulos.

He added: “The bodies were constantly found. Bodies, irons, plastic, chairs, bags, everything is a mess. This is the worst mission I have ever been on. There were many new children. We felt like we were getting our kids out.”

It was made public video from the moment of collision of two trains, while news circled the world and dominated the mainstream international media for a long time.

Work like 30 years ago

“The main problem on the Athens-Thessalonica line is how alarm and remote control not working, the main safety features that protect trains from accidents. In fact, this critical railway for the country in terms of its security and protection in 2023 is judged only by the human factor. Our trains work the same as they did 30 years ago. Figuratively speaking, it’s like a puddle in front of our house. We know where it is and we always avoid it, but at some point we get there. This happened in this case too,” he told K about the tragedy in Tempi. Vasilis Zavoyannisemployee representative on the TRAINOSE Board of Directors.

Remote control and light signaling systems do not work not in exceptional cases, but because of many years of delays in the modernization of security systems.

Chairman of the Office of Railway Regulation, Joanna Tsiaparikutold K about “contracts that were to be fulfilled. The system is currently in manual mode, so there is a risk of human error.”

The president of the OSE workers’ union spoke of the tragedy of human error, Nikos Tsikalakis. In particular, he noted that it is still too early for a complete picture, stressing, however, that “the first assessment shows that the tragedy occurred through the fault of a person.”

Resignation and promise

At noon on Wednesday Transport Minister Kostas Ah resigned. Karamanlis.

“It is a fact that we received the Greek railway in a state that does not correspond to the 21st century. During these 3.5 years, we have made every effort to improve this reality. Unfortunately, these efforts were not enough to prevent such an accident. And it’s very hard for all of us and for me personally,” he stressed and added: “When something so tragic happens, it’s impossible to continue as if it didn’t happen. I have been in politics for several years, but I consider it a necessary element of our democracy for the citizens of our country to trust the political system. It’s called political responsibility.”

“For this reason, I am resigning from the post of Minister of Infrastructure and Transport. This is what I consider it my duty to do as a minimal sign of respect for the memory of the people who left so unfairly, and to take responsibility for the eternal mistakes of the Greek state and political system,” he added.

For his part, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakisafter visiting the scene of the tragedy, in in his statement, he promised that duties would be assignedstating that it will be established independent and cross-party committee of experts.

He announced that the Minister of State Giorgos Gerapetritis becomes interim transport minister and pointed out that “everything shows that the drama arose, unfortunately, mainly due to tragic human error.”

Her suspension of all trains which were scheduled for Thursday, announced Greek trainin connection with the strike Panhellenic Railway Federation.

A number of foreign leaders expressed their condolences to Greece.