Greek prosecutor seeks trial of former deputy minister Triantopoulos over Tempi crash site cover-up

The prosecutor's proposal

A Supreme Court deputy prosecutor has formally proposed that former Deputy Minister Christos Triantopoulos face a Special Court on a misdemeanor charge of breach of duty over the handling of the Tempi train crash site. The proposal was submitted on 22 July 2026 by Deputy Prosecutor Dimitris Mitroulias to the Judicial Council of Article 86 of the Constitution, which must now decide whether to accept it. If upheld, this would mark the first Special Court convened in connection with the disaster.

The proposal is for the referral of the former deputy minister for the offense of breach of duty, concerning actions or omissions during the management of the Tempi tragedy in the first hours after the multi-fatality accident.

The prosecutor also recommends that four other defendants stand trial alongside Triantopoulos. These include former Thessaly Region Governor Kostas Agorastos, the then-general secretary of Civil Protection, and senior fire service and traffic police officials from Larissa who held command at the critical time.

The Tempi disaster and site alteration

The case stems from the collision of two trains on the night of 28 February 2023, which killed 57 people. According to the indictment, actions taken immediately after the crash resulted in the alteration of the site and the loss of crucial evidence needed to investigate the causes of the accident. The charge sheet alleges that an order was given to clear the site hours after the fatal crash, while rescuers were still collecting human remains, and that concrete was poured so cranes could lift the wreckage of the trains.

Prosecutors argue this decision hampered both the rescue investigation and the subsequent judicial inquiry. Eight individuals in total were investigated under the law on ministerial responsibility. Mitroulias proposes that three of those eight (described as lower-ranking fire service employees) be cleared of complicity in the ministerial offense and instead that their case file be separated and transferred to the Larissa prosecutor for investigation of a different offense related to an incomplete expert report on the fire's cause.

The defendants and their response

Triantopoulos and his co-defendants have all denied the charges. During their testimony before Supreme Court investigating magistrate Foteini Miliotou, they rejected any connection to the breach of duty charge. Triantopoulos stated that his role at the scene was limited exclusively to state aid and public information, without any involvement in operational or investigative decisions.

More than 45 relatives of the Tempi victims have declared their support for the prosecution, and some have requested that the charges be upgraded.

My role at the site of the tragedy was limited exclusively to state aid and public information, without any involvement in operational or investigative decisions.

What happens next

The Judicial Council now has the final say. Its decision is expected in the autumn of 2026. The council will assess the full evidentiary record and decide whether to accept or reject the prosecutor's recommendation.

If the council approves the referral, a Special Court will be constituted for Triantopoulos and his four co-defendants. Meanwhile, a separate investigation continues into former Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Kostas Ach. Karamanlis, who is also being examined for breach of duty. Seven former general secretaries of the ministry who served between 2016 and 2023 are being investigated alongside him.