Greece’s top supreme court prosecutor on Monday ordered an appellate-level prosecutor in the central city of Larissa to exhaustively investigate and respond to all questions and assertions made by relatives of the victims of the Tempi rail disaster – the dour one-year anniversary of which comes on Wednesday.
The order by high court prosecutor Georgia Adilini also cites attorneys for relatives of the 57 victims and those injured in the collision involving two trains at the southern entrance of the Tempi Valley gorge in north-central Greece.
The development comes after high-profile assertions by victims’ relatives, their legal counsels and media reports citing the prospect of toxic or fuel accelerant materials causing the large explosion immediately after the collision on the evening of Feb. 28, 2023.
Additionally, the Larissa prosecutor’s office will investigate charges of intentional paving over of the crash site and the possible loss of material evidence.
Previously, regional government officials, including the former regional governor, claimed that concrete was poured along the sides of the rail line to support heavy equipment salvaging and removing the crashed rail cars and locomotives.
Adilini called on the Larissa prosecutor to “answer, after an evaluation, every allegation and complaint made by relatives of victims or victims and their attorneys, so that in the end the investigation leaves no doubt that prosecuting authorities have investigated every aspect of the case, fulfilling their duty to the utmost degree … there are protests and complaints from relatives of victims over unanswered questions, and evidence not taken into account or which was not properly evaluated,” the order reads.
Rack rail line blocked by landslide
In a separate rail-related incident on Monday, a landslide interrupted a journey of the Diakopto-Kalavrita rack railway in the mountainous northwest part of the Peloponnese province (southern Greece).
The special cog-wheel train carried 90 passengers. The train returned safely to the Diakopto station after the line was cut by the landslide at the Niamata site.
The debris was subsequently cleared, according to Hellenic Train, which operates the special train, which has for decades been a tourist attraction in the wider region.
