March 6 () –
The Greek authorities have ordered the head of the railway station in the city of Larissa, Vasilis Samaras, to remain in custody pending trial on charges against him following last week’s accident in the vicinity of the town of Tempi, which resulted in at least 57 deaths.
Samaras’ lawyer, Stefanos Pantzartzidis, has detailed that the man appeared on Sunday for more than seven hours to give his version of what happened, after which he was transferred to prison, where he will remain until the start of the trial, according to the newspaper. Greek ‘Ta Nea’.
Thus, it has highlighted that the decision was adopted “unanimously” and has outlined that “it was something foreseeable due to the importance of the case and the responsibilities”. “The defendant has recounted everything, just as things happened, regardless of whether certain responsibilities may fall on him,” she stated.
Samaras’ appearance took place on a day in which there were clashes during a protest demonstration against the authorities’ response to the train accident. For his part, the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, published a message on social networks to apologize for what happened in the train accident.
“Let me start with the obvious. As Prime Minister I owe everyone, but especially the families of the victims, a huge apology both personally and on behalf of all who have governed the country in recent years,” he said. , before stressing that there will be a rapid judicial investigation to clarify the responsibilities and anticipate that the responsible Ministry will announce new measures in a matter of days to improve the safety of the railways.
The accident occurred when a passenger train with about 350 people on board collided with a freight train, derailing three carriages with passengers. The Greek government declared three days of national mourning, until Friday, for the incident.
