Greece’s new transport minister, Giorgos Gerapetritis, apologized on Thursday to the families of the victims of Tuesday’s two-train accident that left 46 dead, according to a provisional report.
“First of all, I would like to apologize to the families of the people who lost their lives and I take the opportunity to exert complete self-criticism on the political system and the state,” Gerapetritis said, pointing to serious shortcomings in the Greek language. train network, admitted “chronicles of shortcomings” in the public rail sector.
Statements to the same effect were also made today by Greek government spokesman Iannis Oikonomou at a press conference in Athens.
“The delays [na modernização dos caminhos de ferros na Grécia] emerge from the chronic pathologies of the Greek public sector, after decades of fragility,” Oikonomou stressed, stressing that the head of the station in Larissa, the closest town to the accident, in central Greece, has already confessed to the error, after also Wednesday arrested Thursday on charges of “negligent homicide”.
“The negligence and error were admitted by the stationmaster himself,” he added.
Minutes later, the stationmaster’s lawyer confirmed that the defendant had already “acknowledged the error”.
The controversy has been raging in the country since Wednesday, casting doubt on the state of the rail network, which many consider neglected.
Drivers’ union president Kostas Genidounias denounced the lack of security on this line that connects Athens and Thessaloniki, Greece’s two main cities.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had already admitted on Wednesday that the collision of two trains was due to “a tragic human error”.
“Everything indicates that the drama was unfortunately due to a tragic human error,” Mitsotakis said after Greece’s Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis announced his resignation after the accident between a passenger train and a freight train, which caused a rear-end collision. on the same line.
The station master of Larissa, the town closest to the accident, in central Greece, was also arrested on Wednesday and charged with “negligent homicide” and as being the cause of “bodily injury”.
Mitsotakis said most of the victims were “young people” as many students returned to Thessaloniki after a long weekend on Monday, a public holiday in Greece.
“We owe these victims an honest answer,” the government leader added in a brief televised intervention.
Source: DN
