The trial of these liable for Greece’s deadliest crash could reportedly not start till the top of 2025, because the case file continues to develop and authorized issues mount.
The trial of these liable for the lethal prepare crash in Tempi has been beset by delays, with investigations nonetheless ongoing two years on from the collision in Greece that killed 57.
Hearings could not start till late 2025, in keeping with Greek newspaper Kathimerini, which attributed the delays to a variety of things, together with requests by victims’ kinfolk for testimonies from additional witnesses.
The trial date can also be being set again by elements together with pending post-mortem and professional experiences, investigations into footage allegedly associated to the catastrophe, and a lawsuit towards an investigating decide, the newspaper reported.
Euronews contacted the Greek Ministry of Justice for touch upon the trial’s reported timeline. It additionally made these requests to attorneys representing the victims’ households.
Final month, investigating decide Sotiris Bakaimis ordered the authenticity of recent footage, which allegedly reveals the freight prepare earlier than its collision with the passenger prepare, to be examined.
Beforehand launched movies of the incident present an enormous explosion following the collision, which some imagine means that the freight prepare transported unlawful, flammable supplies.
A forensic investigator employed by victims’ households has alleged that 30 of the 57 passengers who died within the incident initially survived the crash earlier than being killed within the fireplace.
If the lawsuit towards Bakaimis, introduced by 5 kinfolk of victims who declare he has mishandled proof, goes forward, additional delays are reportedly probably.
The developments comply with the publication of a long-awaited report into the deadliest prepare crash in Greece’s historical past. In addition to exposing deep-rooted points with the nation’s transport infrastructure, the catastrophe has come to be seen by many as an exemplification of institutional failure in Greece.
Launched in February, on the eve of the incident’s second anniversary, it blamed human error, ageing railway infrastructure, and key systemic failures for the catastrophe. Poor coaching and workers shortages had been additionally recognized as contributing elements.
The report, which was authored by an unbiased investigative committee, concluded that the collision occurred after a station grasp made a routing mistake that directed a passenger prepare onto the identical monitor as an oncoming freight prepare. The ensuing crash killed 46 passengers, largely college students, and 11 workers members.
It additionally discovered that had fashionable security applied sciences been applied, the accident wouldn’t have occurred.
The second anniversary of the crash was marked by a common strike and a wave of mass protests in Greece, with tens of 1000’s gathering in Athens’ Syntagma Sq..
Victims’ households have accused Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ authorities of mishandling the investigation, whereas there have additionally been mounting allegations of a cover-up. Earlier this month, Mitsotakis’ cupboard confronted a vote of no-confidence, which it survived.
