Latest news with #Zougla
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Yahoo
Explosion in central Athens after anonymous tip off
There has been an explosion in central Athens, near the offices of Greek railway company Hellenic Train. CCTV footage captured the moment the blast appeared to rip through a backpack, reportedly left outside the office block late on Friday. Police said anonymous calls were made to Greek media outlets warning of the attack, which happened close to one of the capital's busiest highways, Leoforos Andrea Siggrou. No fatalities or injuries have been reported. Greece's Transport Minister Christos Staikouras condemned it as a "criminal act", which had "endangered the lives of people". Local news outlets Efsyn, a Greek daily newspaper, and website Zougla - both of which received a call - said the explosive device had apparently been placed in a padlocked backpack and placed on a scooter without licence plates. A police bomb disposal squad arrived too late to safely detonate the device before it exploded, they said. Staikouras, the minister of infrastructure and transport, said the attack was "an absolutely condemnable act". "This is a criminal act, which endangered the lives of people, employees and passers-by, in a central point of Athens and during peak traffic hour," he said in a statement. "Nothing justifies terrorism, no act of violence brings justice. The authorities and the judiciary now have the floor," Staikouras added. Hellenic Train confirmed no employees or passing citizens were injured and that the blast caused "limited material damage". "Our company unequivocally condemns all forms of violence and tensions that fuel a climate of toxicity that undermines all progress." Although the cause of the explosion is not yet known, it comes amid widespread public anger over a railway disaster that took place more than two years ago. In February 2023 a freight train and a passenger train carrying 350 people, headed in opposite directions, were accidentally put on the same track. Fifty-seven people, most of them young students, died. Dozens more were injured. Multiple protests have been held in Greece since, including earlier this year to mark the crash's second anniversary. Those demonstrations descended into violence, with hooded protesters seen throwing rocks and petrol bombs at police. Officers responded with tear gas and water cannons. An inquiry concluded in February that the train crash was caused by human error, poor maintenance and inadequate staffing. A date for a trial is yet to be announced. Greeks hold mass protests demanding justice after train tragedy
BBC News
12-04-2025
- BBC News
Athens explosion: Police investigating blast near Hellenic Train offices
There has been an explosion in central Athens, near the offices of Greek railway company Hellenic footage captured the moment the blast appeared to rip through a backpack, reportedly left outside the office block late on said anonymous calls were made to Greek media outlets warning of the attack, which happened close to one of the capital's busiest highways, Leoforos Andrea Siggrou. No fatalities or injuries have been Transport Minister Christos Staikouras condemned it as a "criminal act", which had "endangered the lives of people". Local news outlets Efsyn, a Greek daily newspaper, and website Zougla - both of which received a call - said the explosive device had apparently been placed in a padlocked backpack and placed on a scooter without licence plates.A police bomb disposal squad arrived too late to safely detonate the device before it exploded, they the minister of infrastructure and transport, said the attack was "an absolutely condemnable act"."This is a criminal act, which endangered the lives of people, employees and passers-by, in a central point of Athens and during peak traffic hour," he said in a statement. "Nothing justifies terrorism, no act of violence brings justice. The authorities and the judiciary now have the floor," Staikouras added. Hellenic Train confirmed no employees or passing citizens were injured and that the blast caused "limited material damage"."Our company unequivocally condemns all forms of violence and tensions that fuel a climate of toxicity that undermines all progress." Although the cause of the explosion is not yet known, it comes amid widespread public anger over a railway disaster that took place more than two years February 2023 a freight train and a passenger train carrying 350 people, headed in opposite directions, were accidentally put on the same track. Fifty-seven people, most of them young students, died. Dozens more were protests have been held in Greece since, including earlier this year to mark the crash's second anniversary. Those demonstrations descended into violence, with hooded protesters seen throwing rocks and petrol bombs at police. Officers responded with tear gas and water inquiry concluded in February that the train crash was caused by human error, poor maintenance and inadequate staffing.A date for a trial is yet to be announced.
Al Arabiya
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Bomb blast outside offices of Greece rail accident company
A bomb exploded Friday outside the Athens offices of Hellenic Train, the company involved in Greece's worst rail disaster, which claimed 57 lives in 2023, police said. The police said anonymous calls to Greek media warned of the attack near one of the capital's busiest highways. There were no immediate reports of injuries in an area neighbouring hotels, restaurants and tourist rentals. The Hellenic Train building also appeared undamaged. Greek daily Efsyn and news website Zougla, both of which received a call, said the explosive device had apparently been hidden in a padlocked backpack, placed on a scooter without licence plates. A police bomb disposal squad arrived too late to detonate the device before it exploded, they said. A nearby hotel had earlier been evacuated, state TV ERT said. The attack was similar to one carried out outside the Greek ministry of labour in February 2024. Fifty-seven people, most of them young students, died in February 2023 when a passenger train and a freight train collided in Tempe, central Greece, after being allowed to run on the same track. The accident has sparked sweeping strikes and hundreds of protests in Greece and abroad this year. It also brought about two votes of no confidence last year and in March that the conservative government overcame. The train's Italian-owned operator Hellenic Train has denied knowledge of any illegal cargo on the freight train. Over 40 people have been prosecuted, including the local station master responsible for routing the trains. A trial into the accident is not expected before the end of the year. Earlier Friday, parliament voted to refer a former junior minister to justice on possible misdemeanour charges for breach of duty in connection to the aftermath of the accident. Opposition parties say Christos Triantopoulos, who was dispatched by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the scene after the accident, authorised the bulldozing of the crash site which led to the loss of vital evidence. Triantopoulos denies any wrongdoing and says he was overseeing relief efforts. Greece's intercity trains went under private management in 2017, when state-owned Greek rail traffic services operator TrainOSE was privatised and sold to Italy's Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, becoming Hellenic Train. Greek state company OSE still owns the tracks. Hellenic Train's former CEO Maurizio Capotorto has reportedly been summoned to testify before a magistrate, on suspicion of giving false testimony to a parliamentary committee into the disaster in January 2024.
