Mr. Sotiris Papamarkakis, who was at the scene of the tragedy from the very beginning, spoke to GRTimes.gr about the conditions he encountered when he arrived at the scene of the train accident in Tempi and the emotions he felt during the investigations.

Visibly moved, the manager of the branch of the Hellenic Rescue Team of Magnesia and a former railway employee, Sotiris Papamarkakis, recounted to GRTimes.gr the tragic moments he experienced during the operation to free people or find bodies, in Tempi, after the collision of the two trains on the evening of Tuesday, February 28.

“The investigations were formally completed by Thursday (2/3) and it was very difficult to find more bodies. When we got to the point… I would describe it in just one sentence: “amorphous mass of iron” Mr. Papamarkakis mentions in his description.

He himself added that it was a great honor for him to be allowed to help alongside people from the Fire Service, as a member of the Greek Rescue Team, while he also spoke as a former railway worker about the accident and the situation he experienced.

“We are on a railway of the past and not of the future”

“As an old railroad man, I saw a sight that I did not like at all. I was a train supervisor for 28 years. For this class, accidents are not enough if only one mistake has been made. A lot of mistakes have to be made for this to happen. We are on a railway of the past and not of the future. It is not a matter of just one person”, added the head of the EOD Magnesia branch.

In addition, Sotiris Papamarkakis noted that he had convinced himself that he would get them all out alive or “at least I would try my best. At first they worked the heavy machinery to open the corridors so that the fire control could enter to search for the passengers.”

“I really felt like my world was falling apart”

According to the former railway employee and member of the EOD, what will remain forever etched in his mind is “when we were cleaning wagon No. 3 on the first day, I found a baby seat of a baby in his clothes. I am a grandfather of three grandchildren… and really I felt my world disappearing. Fortunately I asked afterwards and learned that the little boy was fine and I wish him and his family the best.”

At the same time, he said that it was by far the worst railway accident that has happened in our country, while the previous one was 51 years ago between Orphanon Karditsa and Doxara Larissa stations, with 21 dead and over 40 injured.

Volunteers at the scene of the tragedy from day one

Afterwards, Mr. Papamarkakis expressed his condolences to the families of the victims, stating the following: “The priority at that time was to act in such a way as to return the unfortunate passengers to their relatives as soon as possible to give them due honors. The family wants its own man in whatever condition he is in order to give him the appropriate honors.”

Finally, he added that on the first day, 25 volunteers from three Paratimas of the Greek Rescue Team arrived at the scene of the tragedy, and more specifically, from Larissa, Volos and Trikala, while on the following day, six people from Volos participated in the investigations. “We chose to be in a group whose main purpose is the search and rescue of people who are in danger. At the time of action, duty comes first. We are trained in psychological first aid. At EOD, responsible and serious work is done in the field of education”.