Today, in front of the Greek Consulate on Via Cavour, the Greek community in Florence gathered in a protest demanding truth and justice regarding the tragic train accident that occurred on the night between February 28 and March 1, 2023, near Tempi, in the Thessaly region of Greece.
The accident involved a freight train and a passenger train that were mistakenly traveling on the same track, resulting in a violent collision. Onboard the passenger train were 352 people, 57 of whom lost their lives. The railway company, Hellenic Train, is a subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato.
The collision was followed by a powerful explosion, the causes of which remain unclear even two years later. Investigations have not yet fully determined the nature of the blast, though some theories suggest that the freight train was carrying illegally transported flammable materials.
Greek authorities have attributed the accident primarily to human error, but the tragedy has also exposed severe deficiencies in the Greek railway system, including the lack of safety systems, outdated infrastructure, and chronic staff shortages.
Furthermore, immediately following the accident, instead of sealing off the crash site, Greek authorities ordered the area to be cleared, preventing a full investigation into the cause of the disaster. Debris was removed, and even the soil was transported away without first searching for human remains or passengers’ belongings. It was the victims’ families who had to commission independent investigations to uncover what really happened.
The Greek community in Florence, along with supportive citizens, is demanding full transparency and accountability—both individual and systemic. Two years after the tragedy, the pain of the victims’ families remains raw, and the right to truth can no longer be delayed. Today, demonstrations are taking place in Greece, across Europe, and around the world, calling for clarity and justice in the Tempi train disaster.
