By Alkis Konstantinidis and Lefteris Papadimas
ATHENS (Reuters) -Tens of thousands of Greeks protested outside parliament in Athens on Sunday to demand justice for the 57 people who died nearly two years ago in the country’s worst railway disaster.
Protesters held banners reading: “We won’t forget” and “I have no oxygen” – echoing a woman’s last words in a call to emergency services that was published by local media last week.
“We are here and we will not stop … until those responsible are held accountable,” said Maria Karistianou, whose 20-year-old daughter died in the 2023 train crash.
Brief clashes broke out between police and some protesters after the largely peaceful demonstration, which was one of the biggest to be held in the capital in recent years. Similar protests were held in other cities in Greece.
A judicial investigation is still in progress over the head-on collision of a freight train and a passenger train packed with students just before midnight on Feb. 28, 2023.
The crash, on a line linking Athens with Greece’s second-largest city Thessaloniki, triggered angry protests across the country, with many people saying it reflected widespread neglect of the rail network after a decade-long financial crisis.
Two years on, the exact cause of death of many of the victims has not been determined. Their families have accused authorities of trying to cover up evidence, something the government denies.
“Two years after the tragedy, no one has been punished, no one is in prison,” Ilias Papangelis, whose 18-year-old daughter was among those killed, told the crowd of protesters, some of whom chanted “Murderers”.
The centre-right government, which was re-elected after the crash, says it is up to judicial authorities to investigate the causes. It has pledged to reform the rail system, though the European Commission says progress has been slow.
The government’s decision to nominate former parliament speaker Constantine Tassoulas as president last week further angered victims’ relatives, who say that under his watch lawmakers failed to investigate any political responsibility.
According to a report by experts hired by families, the crash led to a huge fireball. It is unclear what caused the fireball.
“We don’t know what caused the explosion, what the (freight) train was carrying,” said Nikos Plakias, who lost his two daughters and a niece in the accident.
“We will always have questions … And if we need to reach the European courts, we will,” he added.
(Reporting by Alkis Konstantinidis, Lefteris Papadimas, Vania Turner, Yannis Souliotis;Writing by Renee MaltezouEditing by Giles Elgood and Helen Popper)
