San Francisco Frontiers - Outrage as Greece admits 'failures' after deadly train crash

About 700 demonstrators massed outside the Athens headquarters of Greek rail operator Hellenic Train to voice outrage and sorrow over the country's worst-ever rail disaster.

The crowd held a moment of silence to honour victims who died in the wreckage near Larissa in central Greece, where a freight and passenger train collided head on Tuesday.

"We are angry towards the company, towards the government and past governments that did nothing to improve conditions in the Greek railway," said Stavros Nantis, a pensioner, at the protest.

Striking rail workers paralysed Greece's train services on Thursday in protest at government management of the network, saying it contributed to the fatal collision.

Announcing the 24-hour shutdown, the rail union federation denounced a "lack of respect towards Greece's rail network by successive governments over the years, which led to this tragic result".

Government spokesman Yiannis Economou said an inquiry would examine the "chronic delays in implementing railway works, delays caused by chronic public-sector malaise and decades of failure."

- Negligence -

Authorities have pointed to "human error" in explaining the collision in which two carriages were demolished and a restaurant car caught fire, trapping many victims inside.

"I believe the responsibility, the negligence, the error has been confessed by the station master," Economou told reporters in Athens.

The manager "acknowledges what he has done," his lawyer confirmed.

Train unionists say security problems for the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line had been known for years.

The country's transport minister resigned Wednesday, and his replacement on Thursday offered his "apologies" to families of the victims and vowed a "complete evaluation of the political system and the state".

"I want to say, looking these people straight in the eye, that there will be an inquiry and everything will be presented to Greek citizens," Giorgos Gerapetritis said.

Safety systems on the Athens-Thessaloniki line are still not fully automated, five years after the state-owned Greek rail operator Trainose was privatised and sold to Italy's Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane and became Hellenic Train.

Newspaper front pages also played up the alleged shortcomings, with the headline of Kathimerini saying "The dead want answers".

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said after visiting the crash site Wednesday that "Everything shows that the drama was, sadly, mainly due to a tragic human error".

Angry demonstrators had rallied outside the Athens office of Hellenic Train on Wednesday evening, as police used tear gas to disperse protesters who threw rocks at the building.

US President Joe Biden offered his condolences on Thursday for the "tragic train accident", adding that "We wish those injured a quick and full recovery."

- 'Crumpled like paper' -

Survivors described scenes of horror and chaos from the crash, many dodging smashed glass and debris as the train keeled over, and breaking windows to climb out.

The train's restaurant car erupted in flames after the collision, with temperatures inside reaching 1,300 degrees Celsius (2,370 Fahrenheit), the fire department said.

For hours after the crash it was not immediately clear how many people were on board, complicating efforts to determine how many are missing.

Roubini Leontari, the chief coroner at Larissa's general hospital, told state broadcaster ERT on Thursday that over 10 people were still unaccounted for, including two Cyprus nationals.

Hundreds of people also gathered in Larissa to donate blood needed to treat the injured.

The tragedy will loom large in the coming re-election bid by Prime Minister Mitsotakis, who was expected to announce an election for April.

I.Rodriguez--SFF