Relatives and survivors testify on state responsibility in 35th session of Tempi train crash trial

Survivor and relative testimonies in court

The 35th session of the trial concerning the Tempi railway disaster convened on 30 September 2026, marked by witness accounts from survivors and victims' families. Relatives of victim Ifigeneia Mitska hung a protest banner outside the courtroom before the session commenced. The proceedings opened with procedural decisions before moving into extended testimony regarding the aftermath of the 2023 crash that killed 57 people. Among those present in the dock were defendants Spyros Pateras, former president of the Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE), and Pavlos Kouzis. The court rejected requests from the family of assistant train driver Nikolaos Nalbantis to summon Adonis Georgiadis and Dimitris Markopoulos as witnesses. Judges also ordered the confiscation of Nalbantis's duty mobile phone while reserving judgment on whether to conduct a forensic expert review.

Father describes condition of sole first-carriage survivor

Dionysis Georgiadis testified for an hour regarding his son, Gerasimos-Iason Georgiadis, who remains comatose as the sole surviving passenger from the first carriage. Georgiadis told the court that his son experienced acceleration forces exceeding 45G when ejected from the carriage during the collision. Medical specialists in Greece and abroad described the brain injury as among the most severe they had encountered, designating the condition irreversible. Georgiadis recounted the hours preceding the departure, noting that his son had considered delaying his trip before boarding at the last minute. While answering questions from his lawyer Loukas Apostolidis, Georgiadis noted taking six blood pressure pills during the identification process at Larissa General Hospital, criticizing former transport minister Kostas Ach. Karamanlis for safety assurances given 15 days before the disaster.

In this tragic accident not a single link broke to break the chain. I would like this never to happen again.

Relatives demand political accountability

Sotiris Mitskas, father of victim Ifigeneia Mitska, addressed the court to assign primary responsibility to the state and former transport minister Karamanlis. Mitskas stated that railway union warnings were repeatedly ignored and condemned government claims attributing the crash solely to human error, arguing that operational telematics would have averted the disaster. He asserted that Karamanlis ran for parliament in Serres after resigning to obtain parliamentary immunity, and noted that orders were given from above not to open coffins for families. Mitskas also addressed Pateras directly, urging him to tell the truth on the stand. Thodoris Eleftheriadis, whose mother Maria Egout died in the first carriage, testified that the inquiry failed to explain the sudden fireball despite findings in the EODASAAM report, criticizing the hasty clearing of the collision site.

Survivor recounts escape from burning carriage

Nikos Zisis, who survived the collision with severe injuries while his 34-year-old wife Athina Katsara died in the third carriage, described the scene immediately following the impact. Zisis testified that he was thrown and pinned against sheet metal in dark, burning wreckage before crawling for more than twenty minutes amid cries for help. He questioned how two trains operated on the same track in 2023 and confronted counsel for defendant Ioanna Tsiaparikou, president of the Regulatory Authority for Railways. Katsara's brother, Vasilis Katsaras, demanded that all 36 indicted individuals as well as political figures face imprisonment. Kanella Andreadou, mother of victim Afroditi Tsioma, concluded the session by presenting her daughter's photograph to Pateras, stating that only a melted ring was recovered and that official documentation confirmed her daughter burned alive.

I opened my eyes and found myself in a war zone. To my left there was a large fire.