Relatives of Tempi railroad crash victims sue the government, including Mitsotakis

Relatives of passengers who died during the train collision at Tempi in central Greece in February filed charges against railroad officials and politicians, including the prime minister, on Tuesday.

According to Christos Konstantinidis, spokesperson for the association of victims' relatives, the latter are suing Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, related ministers of the current government and previous governments, and railroad officials.

The suit was filed with the prosecutor of the Larissa Appeals Court.

The aim is an investigation going back 15 years to look for other liabilities that led to the deadly accident.

A passenger and a freight train travelling in opposite directions on the same Athens-Thessaloniki track collided late at night on February 28, 2023, killing 57 passengers and several young college students returning to school.

The disaster prompted tens of thousands of people to take to the streets to vent fury with the government, which for the last eight years has been led by the conservative Mitsotakis or his main rival, leftist Alexis Tsipras.

The former head of rail network company OSE, forced to resign after the tragedy, has already been prosecuted for breach of duty.

The stationmaster on duty during the crash is being held in pre-trial detention on charges of endangering public transport and negligent homicide, facing up to a life sentence if convicted.

Three other railway officials — two other stationmasters and a shift supervisor — have also been charged in connection with the disaster.

The transport minister resigned after the disaster. He is again a candidate in Sunday’s elections.

The government drew fire after initially trying to place the blame squarely on the stationmaster on duty.