Larissa station master is in custody, supervisor and OSE inspector suspended

Pretrial detention was considered after the marathon apology on Sunday the stationmaster of Larissa, with the agreement of the interrogator and prosecutor. Earlier, the OSE, with a statement had made known that he put him on leave, as well as his supervisor and the inspector of the Agency.

Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) on Sunday announced that the Larissa station master on duty at the time of the fatal Tempi rail accident, his supervisor and OSE inspector Dimitris Nikolaou have been suspended from work until the investigation into the causes of the accident and the conditions in which it occurred has been concluded.

The company also promised to do everything in its power for justice to be served, adding that OSE teams were at the crash site from the first moment to help get passengers out and assist in the handling of the accident.

OSE again expressed its condolences and anguish and noted that under such conditions and priorities "it is extremely difficult for the organisation to respond to informing public opinion in detail via the media, something that will happen in the coming period with the greatest respect for the victims of the accident."

According to a transport ministry announcement, the OSE inspector has been suspended until there is an investigation into whether the relatively inexperienced station master, Vasilis Samaras, was an appropriate choice for station master in Larissa, which has one of the largest and busiest stations in the country.

The station master is to testify before an examining magistrate on Sunday, after his lawyer obtained an additional extension to prepare his statement, citing the emergence of new evidence.

Meanwhile, the identification of the remains of victims found at the crash site has been completed, with the death toll remaining at 57. In total, 55 bodies have been identified and one remains unknown, as it has not been declared missing and there is no comparative DNA sample to use for identification. One woman is still seeking her daughter, who was on the train, of whom no trace has yet been found.

The work of removing the carriages and debris from the crash site has been completed, with the fire brigade now conducting a final sweep of the ground around the trains for possible biological material that may have been missed.

State will pay 3,500 euros for each train crash victim's funeral

The labour and social affairs ministry denied any plan to reduce the amount allocated for the funeral expenses of the Tempi train crash victims, calling such rumours "groundless" in an announcement on Sunday.

"There is no reduction!" the ministry said, clarifying that "with a Joint Ministerial Decision that is issued, the amount of the state expenditure for the funeral of each victim of natural disasters and accidents is set at 3,500 euros." The relevant decision is to be issued on Monday.