The Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, apologized this Sunday to the families of the victims of the collision between two trains, on Tuesday, which killed 57 people and provoked a great revolt among the population of Greece.
“As prime minister, I owe everyone, but especially the families of the victims, forgiveness”, declared Mitsotakis, in a message addressed to the Greeks, published on the social network Facebook.
“In Greece in 2023, it is not possible for two trains to run in opposite directions on the same track and not be noticed by anyone. We can’t, we don’t want to and we shouldn’t hide behind human error”, attributed to Larissa’s station chief, insisted the conservative prime minister.
Mitsokanis is scheduled to attend a church service at the Orthodox cathedral in Athens on Sunday.
All churches in the country plan to pay tribute to the victims of the accident, which also caused dozens of injuries, and which was described by the authorities as “a national tragedy”.
Also this Sunday in Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, and where many of the victims lived, were launched again molotov cocktails against a platoon of anti-riot forces, reported the Greek news agency ANA.
The stationmaster of Larissa, the closest town to the site of the accident between a train linking Athens and Thessaloniki and a freight train, claimed responsibility for the disaster.
Presented by the media as inexperienced and in office for a short time, the 59-year-old man will be heard by the Greek justice and could be accused of manslaughter.
The state of degradation of the railway network, problems in the signaling system and insecurity on the railways were also pointed out as existing problems. Union representatives had been alerting in recent weeks to the various deficiencies in the network and the lack of employees.
The Greeks plan to demonstrate their dissatisfaction again this Sunday, in front of the Parliament, in the center of Athens.
In recent days, these protests have led to clashes between police and demonstrators in the capital and Thessaloniki.
On Friday, demonstrators protested and chanted “murderers” outside the headquarters of the Hellenic Train railway company in Athens, and wrote the word in red letters on the facade of the building.