Tempi: Athens City Council Approves Monument for Train Crash Victims

The names of the 57 victims of the 2023 train crash at Tempi that had been written in red on the pavement in front of the Hellenic Parliament on Syntagma Square, central Athens, during a rally. Photo source: Municipality of Athens

A monument for the victims of the Tempi railway accident on February 28, 2023, will be built in Athens, following a decision of the city’s municipal council.

“More than a year after the tragedy, the Municipality of Athens, with respect to the people who were lost and their relatives, wishes to honor their memory,” said the city’s mayor, Haris Doukas, when announcing the decision.

According to the mayor, the selection of the location where the monument will be built, as well as the type, will be decided jointly with the association representing the relatives of the victims.

Athens Mayor Haris Doukas

The Tempi crash, the worst in Greek history, took place on February 28, 2023, when a passenger train collided head-on with a freight train that had been mistakenly placed on the same track. The two trains collided near the town of Tempi in northern Greece, leaving 57 people dead, dozens injured and many unaccounted for.

An investigation into the accident launched four months ago after a parliamentary committee was set up by the Hellenic Parliament. The Greek public still awaits answers on the train crash.

“More than a year after the tragedy, the Municipality of Athens, out of respect for the people who lost their lives and their relatives, wishes to honor their memory and join its voice with all those who seek justice and a safe and fair state,” the mayor of Athens said.

“We hope our initiative will be a symbolic gesture of support for the personal and collective pain caused by the accident, but also that it will demonstrate that the Municipality of Athens is present in the effort for truth, justice and safety,” Doukas added.