One year has passed since the nation’s worst train crash that claimed the lives of 57 passengers on the Intercity 62 train in Tempe. As the investigation into the case is ongoing, relatives of the victims complain of errors and omissionsmainly the period before the investigation was assigned to a special appellate investigator. Immediate completion of the interrogation will allow the trial to beginwhich is expected to be held in rooms specially designed for the purpose, at TEI Larisa.

The smell of death

“Screams and shouts were coming from everywhere, inside and outside the carriagespeople were begging for help, for their lives and the fires scattered before my eyes, along with a strange smellwhich at the time I wasn’t sure what it was but it made me dizzy and panicky, now I can say for sure that it was the smell of death and burning flesh.’

Testimonies like that of the 21-year-old from Thessalonikiwho survived the Tempe train crash injured, have been reflected in the lawsuits filed by victims and relatives of victims in the months following the tragic accident.

In the videos released today by “K” -some for the first time- Intercity 62 can be seen before and after the collisionbut also the explosion that followed. “The large thermal load combined with the unknown fuel created an intense firewhich started from the canteen car and was transmitted to the passenger car B2″, refers to the text of the conclusions of the “Investigation Committee of Independent Expert Families-EDAPO”dated July 2023.

Lumber

From documents that have been included in the case file it appears that the chemical substance xylene was detected at the site, a flammable chemical solvent used to make paints, but also to adulterate fuels. This particular chemical was detected, despite the fact that the debris had been removed from the crash site and the area had been covered with gravel.

In August, in a memorandum to the Prosecutor’s Office of the Supreme Court, some relatives of victims raised a series of questions demanding answers. “Why do you preemptively exclude illegal cargo from the commercial train?”, is one of them. Legal circles told “K” that it is possible that the issue of the explosion and fire will be separated from the main case file, so that it can be thoroughly investigated without delaying the completion of the investigation into the train accident itself and the causes that caused it .