Protesters Clash With Greek Police Over Deadly Train Crash

Greek police have clashed with a small group of demonstrators in central Athens, as thousands of students and rail workers protested the nation’s deadliest train crash in recent memory.

The incident occurred after the small group hurled petrol bombs at police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.

The collision, which occurred on Tuesday between a passenger train carrying over 350 individuals and a freight train on the same track in central Greece, has so far claimed 57 lives and left several others injured.

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The passenger train, travelling north from Athens to Thessaloniki, was filled with university students returning after a long weekend.

Following nationwide protests over the last three days, a group of approximately 10,000 students, railway workers, and organizations associated with leftist political parties congregated in an Athens square on Sunday.

Their intention was to offer condolences for the lives lost and urge for improved safety measures on the rail system.

"That crime won't be forgotten," protesters shouted as they released black balloons into the sky.

Taking aim at the Greek government, one placard read: "Their policies cost human lives."

Railway workers' unions say safety systems throughout the rail network have been deficient for years as a remote surveillance and signalling system has not been delivered on time. They have called on the government to provide a timetable for the implementation of safety protocols.

"As Prime Minister, I owe everyone, but most of all the relatives of the victims, an apology," Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis wrote on Facebook.

"Justice will very fast investigate the tragedy and determine liabilities."

 In his weekly address to crowds in St Peter's Square, Rome on Sunday, Pope Francis said that his thoughts were with the crash victims.

"I pray for the dead, I am close to the injured and their relatives, and may Our Lady comfort them," he said.

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