The death toll from the tragic train collision in Tempi now stands at 57, according to the head of the forensic service of Larissa, Rubini Leontari.
Speaking to a Real FM, the medical examiner noted that 14 charred bodies have been transferred to the morgue, while seven were transferred yesterday.
Leontari also said that the bags of human limbs found in the morgue have exceeded 10.
"DNA has been taken from each limb, so some limb that may belong to a dismembered corpse will be attributed to the corpse, some limbs that do not they will belong to a corpse, we will have their DNA" she noted, commenting on the identification process," she said.
"Identification is not the work of medical examiners. Of course we help, but it is the responsibility of the laboratory of the Civil Protection's specialised group for mass disasters.
"We have information that the DNA laboratory investigation is progressing. We already have, so far, 14 complete results, which are in the process of being identified."
Meanwhile, demonstrators poured into the streets of Greece after a head-on collision between two trains killed dozens and left scores injured, amid anger over the country’s poor record on railway safety.
Protesters clashed with police in the Greek capital Athens after a passenger train carrying more than 350 people collided with a freight train on Tuesday evening in Tempi, near the city of Larissa, leaving at least 46 people dead and scores injured. The death toll is expected to rise.
The Greek transport minister resigned in the wake of the tragedy, while a rail workers union is going on strike, accusing the government of “disrespect” in the sector.
Most of the passengers involved in the accident were young, a local hospital told ERT. The accident came soon after a holiday weekend.
The identification process of the dead is ongoing alongside recovery efforts involving firefighters and ambulance workers, with the focus on the first carriages of the passenger train, Greek authorities said.
Greece has a weak record of railway passenger safety compared with other countries in Europe, recording the highest railway fatality rate per million train kilometers from 2018 to 2020 among 28 nations on the continent, according to a 2022 report from the European Union Agency for Railways.
In an extraordinary meeting, the Greek federation of rail workers decided unanimously to launch the 24-hour strike on Thursday to highlight poor working conditions and chronic understaffing.
It accused the federal government of “disrespect” towards railways for causing the tragic crash, saying “more permanent staff, better training and mainly the implementation of modern security systems, are permanently thrown in the bin.”
Separately, another 24-hour strike was announced by Greek metro workers, who said in a statement: “There are no words to describe such tragedy.”
Greek transport minister Kostas Karamanlis said the railway system the government inherited was “not up to 21st century standards” as he stepped down from his role Wednesday.
In a televised address after visiting the crash site, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the collision was “mainly” due “to tragic human error.”
He said the transport minister’s decision to resign was honorable, and added that the heads of Hellenic Railways Organisation and its subsidiary ERGOSE have also submitted their resignations.
A station manager of a train station in the city of Larissa was arrested in connection to the collision, as part of the investigation into the incident.
The 59-year-old man in question had been charged with mass deaths through negligence and causing grievous bodily harm through negligence, the Larissa police department said.
According to ERT the station manager being questioned for his role in the collision has admitted to “making a mistake.”
READ MORE: Train collision in Tempi: "I'm not a hero, I did my duty," says the teenager who helped save 16 passengers.
