Aftermath Of Greek Train Accident: The Stationmaster Who Is Considered Responsible Receives Life Sentences

Illustration of trains used to serve passengers in Greece. (WIkimedia Commons/Falk2)

JAKARTA - A stationmaster who was on duty during Greece's worst train accident last week, was detained on Sunday, hours after the prime minister apologized for the disaster.

Station chief Vassilis Samaras, 59, was summoned earlier to explain to prosecutors how passenger trains were allowed to run on the same line as freight trains for several kilometres.

The accident that occurred near the center of the city of Larissa on Tuesday night killed at least 57 people.

Samaras was charged Sunday for his role in the "death of a large number of people". The offense carries a penalty of between 10 years and up to life under Greek law.

Early in the morning, ahead of the memorial service in Athens, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote a message addressed to the people of Greece.

"As prime minister, I owe it to everyone, but especially to the victims' relatives, (to ask for) a pardon," he wrote, quoted by The National News March 7.

"For Greece in 2023, two trains going in different directions cannot travel on the same track and no one notices it," Mitsotakis wrote in a message posted on his Facebook page.

The minister in charge will soon announce measures to improve railway safety, he said.

Greece will also seek help and advice from the European Commission, as well as funding, to upgrade and modernize its rail system, he continued.

In his Sunday message, PM Mitsotakis addressed the issue of responsibility, saying they don't want to hide behind the issue of human error.

Details have emerged in the Greek media about the stationmaster's relative inexperience at the post, as well as the fact that he was not supervised during the busy holiday weekend.

His lawyer, Stefanos Pantzartsidis, insisted that although his client had claimed responsibility this was not the whole story.

"In that case, there are new important elements that need to be examined," he said.

At the small Rapsani station, near the crash site, local residents left red and white carnations and lit candles along the tracks, as public anger on the street over the deaths turned violent in demonstrations to protest the longstanding neglect of rail safety, mourning the victims.

Thousands of angry demonstrators - police estimated the number at 12,000 - gathered in a large open square in front of parliament to demand accountability for the disaster.

Some protesters held signs reading "down with the killer government", with violent clashes erupting between police and some of the demonstrators later.

Police said seven officers were injured and five arrested, after demonstrators set fire to trash cans and threw Molotov cocktails. Police responded by firing tear gas and stun grenades to clear the square.

Meanwhile, Hellenic Train, the rail company that was the focus of the anger expressed after the crash, defended its actions late on Saturday.

Separately, Kostas Genidounias, head of the OSE train drivers' union, said they had warned authorities about safety failures on the track where the accident occurred.

Previously, the guild leaders on the Hellenic Train sounded the warning alarm three weeks ago.

"We will not wait for the accident to happen to see those responsible shed crocodile tears," they said at the time.