A year has passed since the tragic accident at Tempi, and today, a solemn Trisagion service was performed at the site to honor the memory of the 57 people who lost their lives.
Relatives and friends gathered early in the morning, their hearts heavy with grief, to pay their respects to the victims.
The somber atmosphere reflected the ongoing struggle to comprehend the magnitude of the tragedy, compounded by the absence of accountability for the incident. Relatives of the victims gathered at the site, seeking answers and justice for their loved ones.
In a poignant moment during the Trisagion service, the priest performing the ceremony was overwhelmed with emotion and burst into tears as he read aloud the names of those who lost their lives.
It is worth noting that on February 25, Metropolitan Ieronymos of Larissa and Tyrnavos presided over a memorial service at the site of the tragedy, offering prayers for the departed souls.
What happened in Tempi
It is recalled that on February 28, 2023, a tragic head-on collision occurred between two trains south of the Tempi Valley in Greece. The collision involved the InterCity 62 (IC62) passenger train and an intermodal freight train, resulting in the loss of at least 57 lives, among an official count of 342 passengers. Several factors contributed to the accident, including the failure to implement the European Train Control System (ETCS) as originally scheduled for 2020, with its deployment delayed until late 2023. Additionally, in 2019, telematics in Larissa ceased functioning due to a summer wildfire and remained unresolved. This collision marked a tragic culmination following a series of other rail incidents that fortunately had no casualties.
Source: protothema, larissa.net / Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas