The anger is great: protests and strikes after serious train accident in Greece The new series “Power Slap” has received a lot of criticism – the main sponsor Monster Energy is silent

The protests in Greece are getting bigger and bigger after the serious train accident that killed at least 57 people. For the second day in a row, railway workers across the country went on a 24-hour strike on Friday, their union said. So far, 36 victims have been identified using DNA testing, a police spokeswoman said on Friday. Forensic labs are working hard to identify all the bodies, she added. According to a spokesman for the fire service, the rescue work at the scene of the accident should be completed by Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, on Friday, numerous students and pupils took to the streets in the country’s main cities. They chanted slogans against the politicians responsible for Greece’s ailing railways. A vigil was scheduled for the evening in front of the Greek Parliament. Citizens’ initiatives and left-wing organizations and parties had called for this, the state broadcaster reports.

On Thursday evening, riots broke out on the fringes of peaceful demonstrations. Autonomists threw fire bottles at police in Athens and Thessaloniki. The situation calmed down on Friday night, state radio reported.

The protests are also taking on political dimensions. In heated talk shows, conservative and left-wing politicians accuse each other that a system that stops a train when danger threatens and therefore also protects against human error does not work. Greece’s two main parties – the conservative Nea Dimokratia and the leftist Syriza – have alternately ruled the country for the past decade. The Railway Union complains that nothing has been put into practice in the field of rail safety.

The accident happened Wednesday night. A passenger train with about 350 people on board had ended up on a track where a freight train was approaching due to a wrong switch position. The railway employee responsible has already been charged with negligent homicide. His lawyer said his client had accepted the share of responsibility that was due him. (saw/sda/dpa)