Rescuers at the site of the crash. Reuters
Rescuers at the site of the crash. Reuters
Rescuers at the site of the crash. Reuters
Rescuers at the site of the crash. Reuters

Station master to testify about Greece's worst train disaster


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

A station master on duty during Greece’s worst train accident in history will appear before a prosecutor on Thursday to explain how a passenger train was allowed to run on the same line as a freight train for several kilometres.

The two trains collided near a tunnel outside Larissa before midnight on Tuesday. Two carriages were crushed and a third caught fire, trapping people inside, with temperatures in one carriage reaching 1,300°C.

At least 43 people have died and several are still believed to be missing ― including two citizens of Cyprus ― although authorities have not released an official estimate.

Many of the victims were thought to be university students returning after a long holiday weekend. Officials said the death toll was expected to rise.

Seventeen biological samples have been collected from remains, and from 23 relatives seeking a match, the police said.

Protests were held on Wednesday evening at the Thessaloniki train station, the city of Larissa and outside the Athens offices of the railway's Italian-owned operating company, Hellenic Train, where protesters threw rocks at the building and at police.

In Larissa, demonstrators held a silent vigil and brought white roses to form the word Tempe, the name of the valley where the accident took place.

The 59-year-old station master will give evidence on Thursday in the central city of Larissa.

He will be charged with negligent homicide and faces a life sentence if convicted.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis ― who will seek re-election this year with ballots expected in April ― said it was a “terrible train accident without precedent” in Greece, promising that the tragedy would be fully investigated.

“Everything shows that the drama was, sadly, mainly due to a tragic human error,” Mr Mitsotakis said on Wednesday after visiting the disaster site.

US President Joe Biden on Thursday was among the world leaders who offered their condolences following the tragedy.

“On behalf of the American people, [first lady] Jill [Biden] and I send our deepest condolences to the families of the victims who lost their lives in the tragic train accident in Greece,” Mr Biden said on Twitter. “We wish those injured a quick and full recovery.”

Britain's King Charles III also expressed his sadness over the “appalling tragedy”.

Authorities have declared three days of national mourning.

Greece's transport minister submitted his resignation just hours after the accident.

Train crash in Greece — in pictures

  • Police and emergency crew search for trapped passengers inside the wreackage. AFP
    Police and emergency crew search for trapped passengers inside the wreackage. AFP
  • Multiple carriages derailed and a few burst into flames. AFP
    Multiple carriages derailed and a few burst into flames. AFP
  • A derailed carriage. AFP
    A derailed carriage. AFP
  • Rescuers and firefighters search the wreckage. AP
    Rescuers and firefighters search the wreckage. AP
  • The accident occurred when a passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train. AP
    The accident occurred when a passenger train collided with an oncoming freight train. AP
  • Firefighters work to extricate passengers from derailed train carriages in Greece. EPA
    Firefighters work to extricate passengers from derailed train carriages in Greece. EPA
  • Smoke rises from derailed carriages. AP
    Smoke rises from derailed carriages. AP
  • Several carriages were derailed and at least three burst into flames after the trains collided near Tempe. Reuters
    Several carriages were derailed and at least three burst into flames after the trains collided near Tempe. Reuters
  • Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train carriages due to the impact. Reuters
    Survivors said several passengers were thrown through the windows of the train carriages due to the impact. Reuters
  • Firefighters and rescuers at the site of the crash. Reuters
    Firefighters and rescuers at the site of the crash. Reuters
  • An injured passenger arrives in Thessaloniki, Greece. Reuters
    An injured passenger arrives in Thessaloniki, Greece. Reuters
  • A medic treats a passenger who survived the crash, in Thessaloniki. Reuters
    A medic treats a passenger who survived the crash, in Thessaloniki. Reuters
  • An aerial view of the site of the crash. Reuters
    An aerial view of the site of the crash. Reuters
  • Ambulances line up near the accident scene. EPA
    Ambulances line up near the accident scene. EPA

“When something so tragic happens, we cannot continue as if nothing had happened,” Kostas Karamanlis said in a public statement.

But train unionists said the safety shortcomings of the Athens-Thessaloniki railway line had been known for years.

In an open letter last month, train staff said track safety systems were incomplete and poorly maintained.

A safety supervisor resigned last year, warning that infrastructure upgrades pending since 2016 were incomplete and that train speeds of up to 200kph were unsafe.

Five years after Greek rail operator Trainose was sold to Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane and became Hellenic Train, safety systems on the Athens-Thessaloniki line are still not fully automated.

“It was a student train, full of kids … in their 20s,” Costas Bargiotas, a senior orthopaedic doctor at Larissa General Hospital, told Skai TV.

“It was truly shocking … the carriages crumpled like paper,” he said.

Passengers described scenes of horror and chaos, dodging smashed glass and debris as the train keeled over, and forced to break windows to climb out.

“It was a nightmare. I'm still shaking,” 22-year-old passenger Angelos told AFP. He added that the collision felt “like a strong earthquake”.

Rescuers at the scene said they had never dealt with a disaster of this magnitude before.

Many bodies were charred beyond recognition and some passengers were being identified from body parts.

“Unfortunately, some of these people will only be able to be identified” via DNA, Larissa mayor Apostolos Kalogiannis told Skai TV.

Rescuers at the site of where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece. Reuters
Rescuers at the site of where two trains collided, near the city of Larissa, Greece. Reuters

“I've never seen anything like this in my entire life,” said one rescue worker, emerging from the wreckage.

Pavlos Aslanidis, whose son and a friend are among the missing, said “it was the train of terror”.

Rescuers were forced to call off the search late on Wednesday to give exhausted crews and crane operators a respite.

The National photo project

Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).

Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general. 

Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15

Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered

UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered

Bahrain – 210 infected, 0 dead, 44 recovered

Kuwait – 104 infected, 0 dead, 5 recovered

Qatar – 337 infected, 0 dead, 4 recovered

Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered

Day 3 stumps

New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)

Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

Country-size land deals

US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:

Louisiana Purchase

If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.

Florida Purchase Treaty

The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty. 

Alaska purchase

America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of  Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".

The Philippines

At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million. 

US Virgin Islands

It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.

Gwadar

The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees. 

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

The more serious side of specialty coffee

While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.

The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.

Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”

One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.

Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms. 

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UK’s AI plan
  • AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
  • £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
  • £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
  • £250m to train new AI models
Updated: March 02, 2023, 4:12 PM