In memory of the victims of the tragedy, activists near the Greek Ministry of Transport have erected exactly 57 black plastic chairs with red carnations pinned to them.
The demonstrators expressed their dissatisfaction with the disaster, which was caused by the negligent attitude of the local authorities to ensure the security system on the railway. “It’s not an incident, it’s a crime,” read some of ers people held above them. Other banners called for the resignation of the government. “Murderers,” read the inscription on another poster. The rally was organized by railway industry employees, students, teachers, members of unions and public bodies.
Recall that on the night of March 1 near the city of Larisa there was a head-on collision between a passenger train going from Athens to Thessaloniki and a freight train going in the opposite direction. As a result of the incident, several wagons carrying people derailed, a fire broke out. There were many young students on the train. Students were returning from their home countries to their universities after a long vacation.
According to the official version, the human factor led to the accident. The station master was taken into custody. He faces a heavy prison sentence. However, the press writes that the government knew about the problems for many years, but did nothing to eliminate the shortcomings. Subsequently, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologized to the families of the victims and promised to carry out an objective investigation into the accident as soon as possible.
