Refugees camping on Victoria Square move into ISAP train station

Commuters traveling on Athens’s ISAP electric railway will be unable to get off at Victoria station in the city center after it was closed on Monday amid concerns for the safety of dozens of stranded refugees and migrants who moved into the station to shelter from strong rains.

A sudden drop in temperature in the early hours of Monday followed by thunderstorms sent refugees and migrants who have been camped on and around Victoria Square as they wait for passage to Germany and Austria, scrambling for shelter. According to local media, some asked shopkeepers in the area to allow them to stay in the sheltered entrances of their establishments, while dozens ran into the underground station.

Transit officials decided to close the station when it became apparent that there was a safety risk and are in talks now with authorities to have the refugees moved to a different location. Some media suggested this may be the tae-kwon-do stadium on the southern coast of Paleo Faliro.