“I Don’t Have Oxygen”
Dear Member,
This is our weekly round-up from Greece.
Nearly half of the Tempi victims did not die from the train collision but from the explosion that followed, caused by flammable liquids carried by the freight train. This conclusion of the expert team commissioned by the Tempi victims’ families sent shockwaves all over Greece.
The conclusion is documented, among others,s by an audio that surfaced this week from calls to the emergency line 112 of passengers who survived the collision before burning alive from the explosion that followed. Important questions arise, especially since the PM had clearly stated that the freight train was carrying no flammable material.
A mysterious disappearance triggered rumors of a possible connection with the Tempi case. At the same time, the opposition has accused the government of passing a bill allowing them to intervene in forensic reports. The specific clause is said to have been added after the publication of the aforementioned Tempi report.
The report proved the government was lying
Thirty passengers survived the train collision but died due to flammable liquids, which were not the engine’s silicone oils. This is the shocking conclusion of the final report (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) submitted to Larissa Appellate Investigator by expert Vasilis Kokotsakis on the explosion and fire that followed the deadly Tempi train collision on February 28, 2023, in which 57 people lost their lives.
The report, commissioned by the victims’ relatives and signed by a team of experts headed by Kokotsakis, unequivocally states that 30 of the 57 victims initially survived the fatal collision but were burned alive due to hydrocarbons.
“The state’s experts did not address the explosion, resulting in 19 months of obscurity regarding the fact that 30 people survived the train collision but burned alive due to the explosion,” Kokotsakis said in an exclusive interview with Astra TV.
He emphasized this was the first time in his career that he encountered so many difficulties in an investigation. “All the evidence was altered—everything. After the site was filled in, and with so many months have passed, evidence has been ‘buried’ under the soil. We reached out as experts to Texas for more information about xylene, and what we discovered is that the concentration, for example, of 0.38 in the soil is much higher and more worrying. The silicone oils, which have been the subject of much discussion during this period, had not even been heated,” he added.
Moreover, based on the material in the new report, Mr. Kokotsakis questioned why specific individuals, without any official justification, were at the accident site at 4 a.m., conducting searches on and off the tracks. A Fire Department’s drone recorded their presence.
"They perished within three agonizing minutes… Within seconds, 8 tons of combustible materials, hydrocarbons, and chemical solvents created a hellish fire that caused the martyrdom of 30 people," Mr. Kokotsakis described, visibly shaken. "Twenty-eight minutes after the collision, the fire was still burning. We cannot know how strong and toxic the materials carried by the passenger train were. Unfortunately, after the filling in of the site, important evidence was lost," he added. "But when you hear a passenger shouting, 'I’m running out of oxygen, I can’t breathe,' you immediately seek scientific answers. This usually happens when chemical solvents are burning," the technical advisor revealed. "I urge the scientific community to listen to the audio recordings, as they will reveal the cause that killed these children."
“Marthi, I love you”
A chilling audio document came to light this week (Öffnet in neuem Fenster), capturing the last nightmarish moments of the passengers on the ill-fated Intercity train.
According to experts, the transcript of calls to 112, combined with the video footage and the meticulous analysis of other evidence, proves that 30 people did not die in the collision but in the explosion that followed, the scale of which is not justified by the known, legal cargo of the commercial train.
Some of the phrases heard in the audio:
"Dimitris, do something," "I can't breathe," "I have very little oxygen," and "I can’t breathe—We’re going to die... The oxygen is running out, help, help..."
One can also hear the last words of Márthi Psaropoulou's friend (Marthi was the daughter of Maria Karystianou, now leading the Tempi Victims’ Relatives’ Association), who survives after the collision, but says (in the audio) she "cannot breathe" due to the minimal oxygen available. "Márthi, I love you," her friend tells Marthi before they both die.
Mrs. Karystianou said (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) the audio document had been known since last August, while she emphasized that more shocking evidence will soon come to light. She added that publishing the audio is a way to pressure Justice to do their job.
Demonstrations demanding justice for Tempi are scheduled (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) all over Greece for Sunday, 26 January, at noon.
“We know this for sure now. We know exactly what the freight train was carrying. There was nothing flammable,” Prime Minister Mitsotakis stated (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) in an interview on 21 March 2023, 21 days after the accident. "The collision was so violent and intense that it caused – this is what the experts tell us – an initial ignition, and obviously, there were flammable materials, oils, which caught fire when the collision occurred. So, I want to categorically answer this because, as you know, conspiracy theories thrive in our country and everywhere. There was nothing suspicious in the commercial train," he added.
In light of all the new evidence, the PM statement raises questions:
Why did the PM choose to make such a statement?
What experts advised him with such certainty? Did he rely on the documents provided (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) by the train company Hellenic Train on 16 March 2023, according to which the train carried metal sheets, food preparations, and beers?
If so, why did he rely only on this while state agencies had concluded no relevant investigation?
Should the freight owners officially state the train has carried something illegal? Xylene is used to adulterate fuel, for example.
Why did he undertake the responsibility of expressing such certainty?
During the press briefing on January 20, government spokesman Marinakis, responding to a question regarding Kokotsakis’s report, said that “public opinion is often misled because expert reports commissioned from one or the other party are labeled as expert reports of the Justice system. This happens often in judicial cases. That's why -and I also speak as a lawyer, it's best not to hold ‘trials’ either in political editor briefings or on television.”
A mysterious incident and a mysterious addition in a bill
We shall also drop here another piece of information:
On 30 December, 39-year-old Vassilis Kalogiros went missing in Larissa. The investigation has yielded no results until the time these lines were written.
The 39-year-old is reportedly (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) the son of the Larissa Appellate prosecutor handling the Tempi case. This prosecutor has also dealt with other high-profile cases and is now about to retire.
Vassilis Kalogiros disappeared from his parents' home in Larissa and has been missing since. It’s reported he had just gone for a stroll in nature, with no incident of family quarrel or suicidal tendencies before.
Immediately after it was reported that the man who disappeared was the son of the prosecutor, rumors started spreading like fire, with people on social media connecting the man’s disappearance with the handling of the Tempi case. Similar comments were also made in the media.
This triggered the angry reaction of Greece’s Supreme Court Prosecutor Adeilini and of the Judges and Magistrates Association. In separate press releases, they denounced the attempted connection by the media, expressing their sorrow and anger.
Until now, no evidence that connects the two facts has been brought to light.
The man’s disappearance might be an event on its own.
The very fact that when they heard the news, people immediately thought the disappearance could be some kind of retaliation for the prosecutor’s work shows in itself how low people’s trust in the Greek state is.
At a last-minute development, the Greek Parliament voted (Öffnet in neuem Fenster) on a bill on Friday. Article 41 of this bill, which pertains to establishing a Tripartite Committee of Forensic Experts by the Ministry of Justice, allowing for intervention in forensic reports, was heavily criticized.
The issue was raised by PASOK MP Evangelia Liakouli, who hinted at a connection between this provision and the Kokotsakis forensic report on the Tempi tragedy.
Liakouli particularly emphasized that the head of this committee would be forensic expert Nikos Karakoukis, who was involved in investigating the railway tragedy and postponed his retirement.
SYRIZA MP Theofilos Xanthopoulos made a similar comment, while Zoe Konstantopoulou, President of Plefsi Eleftherias, directly referred to the provision as a "tailored measure" aimed at intervening “even in the cause of death,” filing a motion of unconstitutionality.
KKE General Secretary Dimitris Koutsoumbas described the provision as controversial, if not tailored, while Dimitris Tzanakopoulos (NE.AR (Öffnet in neuem Fenster).) noted that the provision was added to the draft bill after the Tempi report. Taking it further, he questioned, “Is the disappearance of the prosecutor’s son who handled the case a coincidence?”
Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis intervened on Friday in the plenary discussion, dismissing these associations, noting that the provision is identical to one found in English law. The minister stated he would amend the controversial provision, specifying that "the tripartite committee of forensic experts will be allowed to review a forensic report only with the consent of the prosecutor or the investigating judge."
Read
Legendary soccer “General” Mimis Domazos passes away at 83 (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Greece’s expectations from Trump on Economy, Greek-Turkish issues (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Earthquake rattles Lesvos with 5.1R; Landslides, schools closed (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Riot police fires tear gas, flash bangs at protesting farmers (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Eurostat: Greeks rank 2nd “Least Satisfied with their Life” in EU (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Greek employee at UN accused of embezzlement of over one million USD (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
ECOFIN: Mid-term fiscal-structural plans of 21 members, incl. Greece (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Veteran ND MP Nikitas Kaklamanis elected new Parliament Speaker (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Hellenistic-era statue found in bag next to a garbage bin (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
Turkish man arrested for murder of betting store owner in south Athens (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
“No Helmet, No Fuel” campaign becomes a Greek law (Öffnet in neuem Fenster)
That’s all for this week; please forward this email to anyone you think might find it interesting and ask them to join our international community!
The AL team
