Greeks are holding their biggest protests for years and taking part in a general strike to mark the second anniversary of a rail disaster that left 57 dead and dozens more injured. “I am here in memory of the people who were killed in the train crash. We demand justice,” said 13-year-old Dimitris who had come with his father Petros Polyzos to the largest rally in Greece, in Syntagma Square in downtown Athens.
It was during the night of 28 February 2023 that a passenger train packed with students collided head-on with a goods train near the Tempi gorge in central Greece.
An inquiry concluded on Thursday that the accident was caused by human error, poor maintenance, and inadequate staffing.
The report by Greece’s Air and Rail Accident Investigation Authority warned that the safety failings exposed by the crash had not yet been addressed: “Those children were killed because the train was not safe,” said the authority’s chief Christos Papadimitriou.
The Tempi disaster shocked Greeks with many accusing their conservative government of doing too little to shed light on the causes of the tragedy.
There is a widely held belief that the government has sought to cover up the role of high-ranking officials.
The entire centre of Athens was crowded with people of all ages and all walks of life, with many saying they were attending a demonstration for the first time in their lives. By early afternoon, tempers flared and clashes broke out with police. Petrol bombs were thrown and police used tear gas.
Dmitris and his father were among many protesters in Athens, wearing t-shirts that read “I have no oxygen – justice to the end”, referring to the 57 who died.
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