Greek PM Apologizes for Deadly Train Crash as the Country’s Fault

VIVA – Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis apologized on Sunday for the country’s fault following the deadly train crash that killed 57 people and injured dozens more.

“As prime minister, I owe everyone, but above all the relatives of the victims, a big sorry. In Greece in 2023, two trains can't run on opposite sides of the same track without anyone noticing.” Prime Minister Mitsotakis wrote on Facebook.

Two trains traveling at high speed in opposite directions on the same line collided head-on in Tempe in northern Greece on February 28, killing at least 57 people and injuring 85. A train with at least 350 on board including many university students hit a cargo train.

“We can't, won't, and shouldn't hide behind the human error,” the Greek PM added.

Furthermore, a stationmaster has been arrested and charged with the manslaughter of carelessness causing a head-on collision between a passenger train and a freight train in central Greece on Tuesday evening local time last week. Both trains had been traveling several kilometers on the same track in opposite directions.

The government will ask the European Commission and other European Union (EU) member states to help provide knowledge, as well as additional European funds to improve Greece's railway system, Greek pm said. 

On the same Sunday, thousands of people protested in front of parliament in rallies organized by political parties and labor unions, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.