Train cash site cleared by order of police, fire brigade

The police and fire department decided to remove the damaged wagons and use diggers to clear the site of the railway accident, the country’s deadliest, in Tempe, central Greece, in February 2023, according to statements given at the end of January 2024 to the Larissa Magistrate’s Court by the digging machine operators and what was stated, on condition of anonymity, to Kathimerini by officials with knowledge of the matter. 

Previously, the police had been designated as responsible for the management of the accident site by the heads of Hellenic Train and Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE), Maurizio Capotorto, and Panagiotis Terezakis, respectively. 

However, relatives of victims have filed lawsuits asserting “unprecedented alteration of the site of the fatal accident, which was committed even before a team of the Larissa Chemical Service visited the site to take samples of materials.” 

The chief fire officer leading the operation testified that it was critical the cranes operated immediately to extricate any injured people and collect the dead, and that the area needed to be properly prepared because, among other things, a gas pipeline runs directly beneath the accident site.