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Greece train crash: Angry protests erupt after disaster Greece train crash: Rail workers strike as anger over crash grows
(about 4 hours later)
Watch: Rescuers search wreckage of deadly Greece train crash Remains of destroyed train carriage being removed by crane on Thursday morning
Watch: Rescuers search wreckage of deadly Greece train crash Rail workers across Greece have begun a one-day strike after Tuesday's train crash which killed at least 43 people.
Protests have erupted in Greece over the rail crash which killed 43 people, with many seeing it as an accident that had been waiting to happen. "Pain has turned into anger for the dozens of dead and wounded colleagues and fellow citizens," the workers' union said in a statement.
Rioters clashed with police outside the headquarters of Hellenic Train in Athens - the company responsible for maintaining Greece's railways. The walkout follows protests in Athens, Thessaloniki and the city of Larissa, near the site of the disaster.
Protests were also held in Thessaloniki and the city of Larissa, near where the disaster happened on Tuesday night. Rescue workers are still going through burned and buckled carriages, searching for victims.
The government has said an independent investigation will deliver justice. This was the "most difficult moment", rescuer Konstantinos Imanimidis told Reuters news agency, as "instead of saving lives, we have to recover bodies".
Three days of national mourning have been declared across the country following the incident, in which a passenger service crashed head on into a freight train, causing the front carriages to burst into flames. The incident happened just before midnight on Tuesday. A passenger train carrying 350 people collide with a freight train after both ended up on the same track - causing the front carriages to burst into flames.
The front carriages of the passenger train were mostly destroyed. The railway workers' strike began at 0600 local time (0400 GMT), affecting national rail services and the subway in Athens.
Many in Greece see the crash as an accident waiting to happen, and the union blamed successive governments' "disrespect" towards Greek railways for leading to this "tragic result".
What we know so far about the Greek train crashWhat we know so far about the Greek train crash
Survivors describe 'nightmarish seconds' as trains crashed
A 59-year-old station master in Larissa has been charged with manslaughter by negligence and is due to appear in court on Thursday. He has denied any wrongdoing, blaming the crash on a technical fault.
The country's transport minister has resigned over the incident, saying he would take responsibility for the authorities' "long-standing failures" to fix a railway system that was not fit for the 21st Century.
Meanwhile, the government has promised an independent investigation that will "deliver justice".
But Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis's suggestion that "tragic human error" was to blame has caused anger.
Pictures of devastation as dozens killedPictures of devastation as dozens killed
Many of the 350 passengers on board were students in their 20s returning to Thessaloniki after a long weekend celebrating Greek Orthodox Lent. Empty platform in Athens during rail workers' 24-hour strike
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said "tragic human error" was to blame for the disaster. On Wednesday, rioters clashed with police outside the headquarters of Hellenic Train in Athens - the headquarters of the company responsible for maintaining Greece's railways.
A 59-year-old station master in Larissa has been charged with manslaughter by negligence. He has denied any wrongdoing, blaming the crash on a technical fault. Tear gas was used to disperse protesters, who threw stones and lit fires in the streets.
Rail union members believe safety systems were not working properly, with repeated warnings about this over many years. At a silent vigil in Larissa to commemorate the victims of the incident, one demonstrator said he felt the disaster had been long coming.
In protest and mourning, rail workers are planning on striking on Thursday at what they say is official neglect of the railways.
"Pain has turned into anger for the dozens of dead and wounded colleagues and fellow citizens," the workers' union said in a statement announcing the strike.
"The disrespect shown over the years by governments to the Greek railways led to the tragic result," it added in comments cited by Reuters news agency.
Transport Minister Kostas Karamanlis resigned over the disaster, saying he would take responsibility for the authorities' "long-standing failures" to fix a railway system he said was not fit for the 21st Century.
But outside a hospital where bodies of the train crash's victims were being brought, a banner was hung claiming that any systemic failings would be covered up in the official investigation now under way.
At a silent vigil in Larissa on Wednesday to commemorate the victims of the incident, one demonstrator said he felt the disaster had only been a matter of time.
"The rail network looked problematic, with worn down, badly paid staff," Nikos Savva, a medical student from Cyprus, told AFP news agency."The rail network looked problematic, with worn down, badly paid staff," Nikos Savva, a medical student from Cyprus, told AFP news agency.
The station master arrested should not pay the price "for a whole ailing system", he added.The station master arrested should not pay the price "for a whole ailing system", he added.
"This is an inadmissible accident. We've known this situation for 30 years," a doctor based in Larissa, Costas Bargiotas, told AFP."This is an inadmissible accident. We've known this situation for 30 years," a doctor based in Larissa, Costas Bargiotas, told AFP.
A vigil was also held in Athens, outside the offices of Hellenic Train. Later in the day, things turned violent in the same area, with police using tear gas to disperse protesters who threw stones and lit fires in the streets. Watch: Rescuers search wreckage of deadly Greece train crash
At the site of the country's worst ever train crash, rescuers yet again worked through the night. Watch: Rescuers search wreckage of deadly Greece train crash
Families have been arriving at a nearby hospital to give DNA samples so that their missing loved ones may be identified. Many of the passengers on board were students in their 20s returning to Thessaloniki after a long weekend celebrating Greek Orthodox Lent.
But this will become an increasingly difficult process as more remains are retrieved of those who were at the front of the passenger train and who bore the full force of the head-on collision and the fire that then ripped through their carriages. Fire brigade spokesperson Vassilis Varthakogiannis said temperatures inside the first carriage - which burst into flames - had reached 1,300C (2,370F), making it "hard to identify the people who were inside".
Fire brigade spokesperson Vassilis Varthakogiannis said temperatures inside the first carriage had reached 1,300C (2,370F), which made it "hard to identify the people who were inside". Families have given DNA samples to help identification efforts, with the results expected on Thursday.
People lit candles and laid flowers outside the railway station in Larissa on Wednesday Local media have reported that more than 10 people are still missing, as Greece observes three days of national mourning.
Protesters gathered outside the offices of Hellenic Train in AthensProtesters gathered outside the offices of Hellenic Train in Athens
Candles were lit outside the offices in Athens
Protesters clashed with police outside the Hellenic Train headquarters in Athens
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