With new, emotional testimonies from passengers and relatives of victims of the Tempi train tragedy, the 45th hearing of the trial continued before the three-judge Larissa Court of Appeals for Felonies.
Marina Dos Santos, daughter of Evangelia Dos Santos and niece of Chrysoula Koukarioti, was the first to testify, describing the difficulties faced by her family, who live in Germany.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
“As a family living in Germany, it’s hard; we don’t know how things are going, nor do we know what we’ve received from our loved ones. I have a young son, and I leave him behind to come here. Our lives have become difficult,” she said.
Next to testify was Stylianos Koukariotis, the brother of Evangelia and Chrysoula, who spoke about the loss of the two women.
“They got on the train, and we never saw them alive again. We went through a very difficult time; this is etched in our memory and won’t go away,” he noted.
He emphasized that he is not seeking revenge, but however, that the defendants be punished according to the court’s judgment, as well as that measures be taken to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
“I am not driven by a desire for revenge, but I want the defendants, in accordance with the court’s judgment, to be punished as they should be. Measures must be taken to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again, so that the sacrifice of these people is not in vain. “From the prime minister down to the last city council member, they need to make sure they do their jobs properly,” he said.
“The train started to turn into a mass”
Next to testify was 25-year-old Triantafyllia Koutsiala, who was traveling in car B2, compartment 6, on the night of the tragedy. She had boarded the train at the Larissa station.
Describing the moments of the collision, she said she was with her friend, Vassou Anthi, when they heard the deafening sound of the crash.
“I was with my friend, Vassou Anthi. After about 10 minutes, we heard the crash, and the train began to crumple into a heap; it was completely crushed,” she testified.
As she described, the windows shattered in the collision, causing her to be injured.
“The windows shattered, and I broke my collarbone and cut my ear,” he said.
Visibly emotional, the 25-year-old described the conditions following the collision, mentioning passengers who were thrown from the train and the survivors’ attempts to escape.
“We crawled and got out through a hole, walked over sheets of metal, and some people were shouting at us to come toward them because there was a fire on the other side. Some people had been thrown by the explosion, and I couldn’t help them,” he testified.
“There were people shouting that they wanted to be amputated,” he emphasized, as well as “Help, I’m burning.”
“It was as if I were in a never-ending washing machine.”
Next to testify was 26-year-old Vassou Anthi, who was riding on the same train as Triantafyllia Koutsiala.
“My body was shaking for seconds after the collision; I remember being thrown through the air. It was like I was in a never-ending spin cycle. When I regained consciousness, I could see a faint light from the fire,” she said.
“I had injuries to my head, arm, and leg, mainly on the right side,” she stated, answering questions from her attorney.
The last to testify was 27-year-old Athanasia Bartsou, who was riding in the sixth car. “The first thing I felt was the sudden braking, and then the shaking began,” she said.
At the end of the proceedings, the prosecutor made recommendations regarding the motions filed by Loukas Apostolidis, the defense attorney for Dionysis Georgiadis, father of the seriously injured Gerasimos Georgiadis.
Regarding the request to summon the secretaries-general of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure for the period 2016–2023 as witnesses, the prosecutor reserved her position on making a recommendation, as these individuals have been designated as defendants in the investigation conducted by Appeals Court Investigating Judge Sotiris Bakaimis. However, no charges were filed against them in connection with this particular case file, as the Supreme Court requested that it be transferred due to its relevance to the case involving Kostas Ach. Karamanlis, which is being heard before a special court.
On the other hand, he recommended that the request to produce documents concerning any warning letters from the European Commission to Greece regarding railway safety be granted.
After a thirty-minute recess, the court concurred with the prosecutor’s recommendations and ordered the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Infrastructure and Transportation to submit—translated into Greek—the specific documents, within thirty days.
The defendants, Spyros Pateras and Pavlos Kouzis, were present at the hearing.
The trial will resume next Monday, November 2, with testimony from relatives and passengers of the ill-fated train.
Source: In.gr
