PHOTO
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (R) visits the area of a crushed wagon after a train accident in the Tempi Valley near Larissa, Greece, March 1, 2023. - At least 32 people were killed and another 85 injured after a collision between two trains caused a derailment near the Greek city of Larissa late at night on February 28, 2023, authorities said. A fire services spokesman confirmed that three carriages skipped the tracks just before midnight after the trains -- one for freight and the other carrying 350 passengers - collided about halfway along the route between Athens and Thessaloniki. (Photo by Sakis MITROLIDIS / AFP)
Prime Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday pledged "absolute transparency" in the probe into Greece's deadliest rail crash that killed 57 people, a day after mass protests rocked the country.
Speaking at the start of his first cabinet meeting since the February 28 accident, he pledged "absolute transparency in the investigation to uncover errors".
He also promised "immediate actions to improve the problematic situation in the railways", and that he would "move heaven and Earth" to ensure improvements to safety systems were completed.
The crash happened when a passenger train and a freight train collided head-on in central Greece after mistakenly being directed onto the same track.
"We are all responsible for this, we must be brave enough to admit it," said Mitsotakis -- who is fighting to be elected at polls within months -- in televised remarks.
The conservative leader said he felt "rage and shame" when he heard conversations between the local station master, who allegedly accidentally directed the trains onto the same track, and other railway staff.
But he also apologised again and said that "we... must not hide behind a series of human errors".
Mitsotakis has been accused of trying to shift the blame onto the inexperienced station master, with critics saying government mismanagement was the main reason for the accident.
On Wednesday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets nationwide, in the biggest demonstrations yet since the crash, with clashes erupting in Athens in Thessaloniki.
