Protest in Athens over the deadly train crash in central Greece
ATHENS - The 59-year-old man in Larissa who was arrested as part of an investigation into a railway disaster on Tuesday night in which 57 people died was allegedly appointed station manager at the beginning of this year although he was over the age limit set by the job application. Candidates were allegedly not supposed to be older than 42, according to the website of Kathimerini, which first published a report on the man charged with manslaughter by negligence.
The station manager, according to the report, was employed for several years by the Hellenic Railways Organization (OSE) as a warehouse worker. Then in 2013, as part of a program to cut jobs, he was transferred to another public agency and only at the beginning of this year, after a six-month-long training course, he was appointed train station manager in Larissa.
Meanwhile, the train station of Larissa was searched on Friday morning by police as part of the investigation into the causes of the disaster. Police seized "all documents that can help the investigation", a spokesperson said.
Firefighters are continuing operations to look for missing passengers and identification procedures of victims' bodies through DNA tests. The operations should end in the coming hours. The victims include a Cypriot boy and girl (aged 23 and 24) who were studying at the University of Thessaloniki, the destination of the passenger train that had departed from Athens.
