Thousands of Greeks demonstrated on Sunday in front of the Hellenic Parliament in Athens after the train crash that killed 57 people on Tuesday.
The protests turned violent when some demonstrators set trash cans on fire and hurled petrol bombs at police. The police responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
At first, the protesters were peaceful. They brought large quantities of black balloons and released them into the sky in memory of the dead.
People observe a minute’s silence during a protest outside the Hellenic Parliament in Athens.
Photo: Angelos Barai/AP
There were also demonstrations in several other cities on Sunday following the train accident outside Larissa, about 380 kilometers north of Athens.
Trains and subways are suspended due to strikes, according to Agence France-Presse.
A passenger train and a freight train collided head-on, and at least three carriages caught fire.
On Sunday, 55 of the 57 victims had been identified, the Greek newspaper wrote Kathimerini.
The train collision was very strong.
Photo: Vaggelis Kousioras/AP
The prime minister asks for forgiveness.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotaki on Wednesday called the train accident a “tragic humanitarian failure”.
You provoked the Greeks. They believe that the reason is, among other things, the lack of maintenance of the railway network. On Thursday, there were already demonstrators outside the Hellenic Train headquarters in Athens.
On Friday, clashes also took place between police and demonstrators in Athens.
On Sunday, the prime minister asked for forgiveness.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote on social media: “Of course, I owe to everyone, but above all to the relatives of the victims, a huge apology, personally, as well as on behalf of all those who have ruled the country for years.” Kathimerini.
“In Greece in 2023, two trains cannot travel in opposite directions on the same line and go unnoticed. We cannot, do not want, and should not hide behind human error,” the prime minister wrote.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (second from left) and Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis (far left) visited the accident site on Wednesday.
Photo: Dimtiris Papamitsos/AP
Greek Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis had already requested on Wednesday to be allowed to leave after the violent train accident.
Karamanlis wrote in a statement that the resignation was his duty and that it was the least he could do to honor the memory of the victims.
He also wrote that he bears responsibility for the “long-term errors of the state”.
The station manager was assigned
The stationmaster of Larissa was already arrested on Wednesday.
He blames it on the fact that the two trains were on a collision course and were undetected and stopped before the accident.
The stationmaster apologized, but he was charged with many serious matters.
The charges relate to undermining the safety of transportation on the road, killing all of those killed, and causing bodily harm to all who escaped injuries, write. Kathimerini.
The prosecution is also looking into who was responsible for the inexperienced stationmaster in charge of the all-important Larisa station.
He had a short training program and had only been on the job for 35 days when the accident happened.
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