A 39-year-old woman was dragged for several meters between a driving train and the station platform in Livadia, Viotia, on Saturday, raising big questions about the traveling safety in Greece.
Together with her three children the woman was traveling on a train from Athens to Thessaloniki.
In Livadia station the train made a scheduled stop to allow passengers to disembark. However, before the disembarkation process was complete, the train doors suddenly closed, trapping the woman and her three children.
At the time of this horrible incident, one of the children had allegedly already stepped onto the platform, another was in the mother’s arms, and the third child remained inside the train.
Former New Democracy MP Andreas Koutsoubas who witnessed the event told media that he “ran with a colleague, shouting at the train driver to stop.”
The train halted approximately 50 meters down the platform, just before gaining speed. The doors were then reopened, and the mother and her children were safely freed.
The mother, who sustained minor injuries, was left in a state of shock.
Eyewtinesses reported of panic among the passengers and people on the platform, with one of the woman’s children to scream “Mama! Mama!” and others urging her to jump off the train.
“I could not jump! Where and how should have I jumped? I was trapped between the doors!,” the woman told STAR TV.
Koutsoubas immediately reported the incident to authorities. He also claimed that train staff threatened him with charges of obstructing transportation and causing delays when he insisted the train be stopped.
The train eventually departed from Livadeia station. However, upon reaching Lianokladi, about 86 kilometers to the north, police officers were waiting and arrested both the train driver and the supervisor for further investigation into the incident, media reported.
Authorities have launched a full investigation into the matter.
In a statement Sunday, Greek railway operator Hellenic Train said it is “carefully investigating the incident” to clarify the circumstances and causes. “Passenger safety is our top priority,” the company said, adding that it adheres to the highest safety standards.
On Sunday, the driver and the supervisor were released upon verbal decision of the prosecutor, while the woman said she will not seek to press charges, ANT1 TV reported.
According to daily ethnos.gr, the train station in Livadia is one of the many across the country without station master. Investigators hope to find details about the incident in security cameras, however, it is not clear if there are any.
Speaking to ethnos, an OSE employee said that the station of Livadia is declared to be closed therefore there is no station master. In charge for the green light to go is the train personnel.
