Rail disaster commission will exhaust all possibilities to establish cause, says expert

Every possible avenue will be exhausted to establish what led to the Tempi rail disaster, a member of the special investigative commission appointed by the government has said.

Vassilis Profyllidis, a professor of transportation engineering at the Democritus University of Thrace, is one of three members of the commission named by incoming Transport Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis.

“Every effort will be made to understand what happened. We must shed light on all aspects of the accident and exhaust all the limits of our scientific capabilities,” Profyllidis told Kathimerini.

“With boundless respect for the pain and sorrow of the citizens who lost their relatives and their own people in this terrible tragedy, but also with a feeling of solidarity and love for my fellow human beings, I will try in every possible way to give the scientific answer about the what happened in Tempi.”

Ioannis-Konstantinos Chalkias, honorary president of the State Legal Council, will chair the commission, which also includes Thanasis Ziliaskopoulos, professor of production and transportation at the University of Thessaly. 

At least 57 people are known to have died in the disaster, which left dozens injured.