Harrowing voice recordings of people trying to escape the flames after the Tempi crash occurred nearly two years ago have come to light, undermining the government’s narrative that deaths were caused by the collision impact and the subsequent fire from the trains’ transformer oil.
The leaked audio came from phone calls made by passengers on the train to the emergency 112 number. After the crash, they can be heard calling for help and struggling to breathe.
A committee of experts commissioned by the victims’ families submitted a report last week with findings that the deaths of 30 passengers occurred after the collision and were linked to the presence of large amounts of so far unknown flammable liquids—not silicone oil from the trains’ transformers, as previously alleged.
The report sheds light on the causes of the disaster, revealing new evidence challenging earlier narratives, including those put forth by the Greek government.
Excerpts from the report captured the heart-wrenching last moments of the victims gasping for air and calling for help amid the chaos after the crash.
As the transcript of the report reveals:
The first major flare-ups were recorded at the passenger compartment’s fire source, with flames and fire jets intensifying. At this moment, the recorded audio captures the phrase: “Dimitri, do something.”
23:19:21: The flames grow larger, and the recorded phrase can be heard: “I can’t breathe.”
In another instance, one of the victims can be heard saying “Marthi, I love you”, while another person says “I have little oxygen left”.
Relatives of the victims have stridently opposed the New Democracy nomination of Konstantinos Tasoulas for President of the Republic, accusing him of impeding investigations: “We demand an immediate investigation into the explosion of the illegal chemical cargo and the fire that burned our loved ones alive,” reads the call communicated by the president of the Association of Relatives of Tempi Victims, Maria Karystianou. “We could have all been in the deadly wagons. We demand Tasoulas’ explanations before his swearing-in to the highest office for burying the Tempi files in the drawers of the Parliament. At Syntagma on Sunday, the heart of society beats loudly! Thank you, we are waiting for you all there!”
On February 28, 2023, a passenger train packed with students collided head-on with a freight train just before midnight on a line linking Athens with Greece’s second-largest city Thessaloniki.
The Tempi crash, the largest railway accident in the country’s history, shocked the nation, prompting many protests. Greek public opinion saw the tragedy as the result of a wider neglect of public services by subsequent governments following a decade-long financial crisis.