These manipulations were intended to create the impression that the accident was solely due to human error. Several left-wing opposition parties later announced a no-confidence vote against the conservative government in parliament.
“There is only one way out: a vote of no confidence,” said Nikos Androlakis, head of the social democratic PASOK. The main opposition leftist Syriza called on Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to step down.
Government: Allegations are baseless
The government called the allegations “baseless” and welcomed the no-confidence vote. “This ill-fated attempt will fail,” assured government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis. The government has a majority of 158 of the 300 seats in parliament, so a no-confidence vote has little chance of actually succeeding.
The worst train accident in Greek history
In the worst train accident in the country's history, a freight train and a passenger train collided near the central Greek city of Larissa on February 28, 2023, as they traveled on the same track for 19 minutes. 57 people were killed and many injured.
In a now-controversial recording released after the accident, the station master allowed an unnamed train driver to use the track. As “Du Vima” has now reported, the station master at the passage spoke to the driver of the earlier train, not the later train that crashed. The train driver's name has been deliberately omitted to cover this up.
The railway has been in disrepair for a long time
It is not clear who carried out the fraud. However, according to “Du Vima”, unauthorized persons can access evidence that should only be available to investigators.
Mitsotakis was outraged last year when he pointed to human error as the cause of “all” the crash. Greek Railways suffers from significant structural deficiencies and its modernization is progressing slowly.
Dozens of railway employees are being investigated
More than 30 railway employees and officials are to be investigated due to the accident. The trial is expected to begin in June. Parallel to the judicial inquiry, a parliamentary inquiry into the accident was also held and concluded a few days ago.
Opposition representatives were furious after the investigation found that no top politician was responsible for the accident. They criticized the fact that important witnesses were not questioned and accused the government of trying to cover up the investigation.
