Greece Faces Report On Deadliest Train Crash As Protests Start
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
ATHENS (Worthy News) – Massive protests were underway in Greece on Friday on the second adversary of the nation’s deadliest train crash after a report blamed human error, outdated infrastructure, and significant systemic failures for the head-on collision killing 57 people.
Evdokia Tsagli told reporters she remembers laughing moments before her train wagon spun through the air. The ordeal lasted seven seconds. For Tsagli, “It was like eternity.” “I think I said over 100 times to myself, ‘When is it gonna stop?'” she recalled.
On February 28, 2023, her carriage in a Greek passenger train landed on top of the dining car ahead, flames consuming the wreckage.
The train, carrying hundreds — many of them university students — collided head-on with a freight train near Tempe, 375 kilometers (235 miles) north of Athens, the capital.
An independent 178-page report written by an independent investigative committee found that a station master’s routing mistake sent the passenger train onto the same track as an oncoming freight train.
The collision, which killed 46 passengers and 11 staff, including both train drivers, left many survivors with physical and mental wounds that will take long to heal.
Investigators also highlighted poor training, staff shortages, and a deteriorating railway system that lacked automated safety controls, noting a chronic lack of public investment during the 2010-18 financial crisis.
That did little to prevent protests on Friday, with thousands expected to remember the victims and pressure authorities to improve infrastructure.
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