Infrastructure and Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned on Wednesday after the deadly train accident in Tempo.
In his statement, Karamanlis said, “I feel it is my duty [to step down], and a minimal gesture of respect to the memory of the people who perished so unfairly, and to take responsibility for the long-standing errors of the Greek state and the political system.” “It is a fact that we inherited the Greek railway [from the previous government] in a condition incompatible with 21st century standards,” he added and continued to say that “in these 3.5 years, we made every effort to improve this reality. Unfortunately, these efforts were not enough to prevent such an accident, and this is very heavy for all of us, and for me personally.”
Karamanlis announced his resignation after returning from his visit to the site of the train accident at Tempi, adding in his statement that “the pain cannot be worded sufficiently.”
“When something tragic like this happens, you can’t live as if it didn’t happen. I’ve only been in politics for a few years, but I think it’s an essential part of our democracy that the citizens of our country trust the political system, it’s called politics of accountability”, he noted.
The accident happened late Tuesday evening when a passenger train carrying more than 350 people collided with a freight train near Tempo.
A 59-year-old Greek station master in Larissa was formally arrested on Wednesday and charged with manslaughter in a tragic train crash near Tempo that killed dozens and injured dozens.
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